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http://archive.org/details/summerdaysonhudsOOwise_0 


JdAMIA  11  AN  \  ll.l.l..     llv<.\l     <    I    .\KUiii.M. 


c  vr.TOM. 


SUMMER  DAYS  ON  THE  HUDSON : 


Clje  Sforg  of  a  |1Ic;tsitK  Cour 


FROM  SANDY  HOOK  TO  THE  SARANAC  LAKES, 


INCLUDING 

Iil&der^  of  Wkvel,  I^er^,  Si^toridal  Si\eddote^, 
$ketcl\e$  of  $c'ei\er'y,  etd. 


By     DANIEL    WISE,     D.D. 


ILLUSTRATED  BY  ONE  HUNDRED  AND  NINE  ENGRAVINGS. 


NEW  YORK : 

NELSON     &    PHILLIPS. 

CINCINNATI:  HITCHCOCK  &  "WALDEN. 
1876. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  In  the  your  1S75,  by 

X  ELSOiN    &    PHILLIPS, 
It  t'"ie  Cilice  of  the  Librarian  <>f  Congress  at  Washington. 


PREFATORY    NOTE 


)TlN  the  following  work  the  writer  has  aimed 
&-»  to  combine  instruction  with  amusement. 
Its  brief  sketches  of  the  unequaled  scenery 
of  the  valley  of  our  American  Rhine,  as  the 
Hudson  has  not  inaptly  been  named,  and  its 
outlines  of  the  legends,  traditions,  historical 
and  personal  incidents,  associated  with  its 
localities,  are  intended  to  direct  the  atten- 
tion of  young  people  to  the  only  method  by 
which  traveling  can  be  made  a  source  of  re- 
fined pleasure  and  intellectual  improvement. 
Without  such  habits  of  observation  and  in- 
quiry travel  soon  becomes  the  synonym  of 
toil,  and  the  fruitful  mother  of  vexation  and 
ennui.  With  them  it  is  a  text-book  of  infor- 
mation and  a  well-spring  of  delight — this  is 
the  lesson  of  our  book.  We  trust  our  read- 
ers will  find  amusement  enough  in  the  story, 
l* 


6  Prefatory  Note. 

which  is  but  a  slender  frame-work  for  the 
lesson,  to  carry  them  pleasantly  through  its 
pages. 

Our  materials  were  derived  from  School- 
craft's great  work  on  the  Indians,  Botta's 
"  History  of  the  Revolutionary  War,"  Irving's 
"Life  of  Washington  "  and  other  writings. 
Hunt's  "  Letters  on  the  Hudson,"  Mrs.  Grant's 
"  Memoirs  of  an  American  Lady,"  "  New  York 
in  the  Olden  Time,"  sundry  guide-books  to 
the  Hudson,  Lossing's  magnificently  illus- 
trated and  finely  written  work  on  "The  Hud- 
son from  the  Wilderness  to  the  Sea,"  and 
from  personal  observations.  Most  of  our 
illustrations  are  from  Mr.  Lossing's  admirable 
pencil,  and  have  previously  appeared  in  his 
above-named  work,  to  which  we  refer  such 
of  our  readers  as  may  desire  a  more  complete 
description  and  a  fuller  illustration  of  this 
magnificent  stream.  Daniel  Wise. 

lewood,  New  Jersey. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER    I. 

ON   AND    UNDER   THE    PALISADES. 

On  the  Piazza  of  the  Mountain  House — A  Party  of  Six  Described — 
The  View  from  the  Mountain  Elouse — The  Ancient  Nobility  of  the 
Hudson  Valley — The  Influence  of  the  Concord  Fight  on  those  Noble 
Families — Jennie  Stuart  Rebuked — The  Legend  of  Spuyten  Duyvel 
Creek — A  Boat  Trip  on  the  Hudson — Under  the  Palisades — The 
Country  Behind  the  Palisades — Legend  of  the  Phantom  Ship — Back 
to  the  Mountain  House   Page  15 

CHAPTER   II. 

YACHT   EXCURSION    TO    SANDY    HOOK. 

On  Board  a  Steam  Yacht — Visit  to  Washington  Heights — A  Gar- 
den of  Delights — The  Defense  of  Fort  Washington  Described — 
Jeffrey's  Hook — Washington  in  Tears — A  Daring  Deed — Fame  a 
Capricious  Mistress — Pleasant  Valley — Wayne's  Repulse  at  Bull's 
Ferry — Andre's  Satire — A  Tragic  Coincidence — Weehawken  Duel- 
ing Ground — Burr  and  Hamilton — An  Indian  Legend — The  Battery 
— The  Narrows — Fort  Hamilton — Sandy  Plook — A  Hearty  Lunch 
and  a  Pleasant  Ramble — Hendrick  Hudson's  Mistake — Origin  of 
the  name  Manhattan — The  Return  Trip — The  Navy  Yard — At  the 
Mountain  House  Again 31 

CHAPTER    III. 

FROM   THE   MOUNTAIN   HOUSE   TO   TARRYTOWN. 

A  Secret  Discovered — The  Song  of  the  Frog,  Okogis — A  Sail  to 
Tarrytown   Proposed — On   the    River — Yonkers  and  its   Name — A 


8  Contents. 

Little   Romance — Hastings  and  Dobb's  Ferry — Narrow  Escape  of 
Washington — Irvington — View  from  Irving  Park Page  55 


CHAPTER   IV. 

SUNNYSIDE. 

Edith's  Morning  Retreat — Off  to  Sunnyside — Paulding  Manor — 
At  Sunnyside — The  Mysterious  Spring — The  Brook — The  Site  of 
Irving's  Mediterranean  Sea — Irving's  Study  and  Dining  Room — 
Lowell's  Quaint  Description  of  Irving — Irving's  Betrothed — Legends 
of  Sunnyside — The  Truants — An  Affair  of  Silly  Sentiment  Re- 
buked   66 


CHAPTER   V. 

FROM    SLEEPY   HOLLOW   TO   ROCKLAND    LAKE. 

Sleepy  Hollow  Bridge  and  the  Old  Dutch  Church — The  Legend 
of  Ichabod  Crane — The  Scene  of  Andre's  Arrest — Andre  and  his 
Captors — The  Colonel  Talks  with  Arthur  About  Jennie — Origin  of 
the  Name,  Tarrytown — A  Yacht  Trip  to  Rockland  Lake — Impres- 
sions of  the  Lake — A  Sail  to  Croton  Bay — Van  Cortlandt  Manor 
House — Character  Better  than  Ancestry 82 

CHAPTER   VI. 

FROM   TARRYTOWN   TO   STONY    POINT. 

A  Dull  Day — The  Legend  of  the  Wonderful  Shingebis — Sunday 
Service  at  the  Old  Dutch  Church — Sing  Sing  and  its  Prison — The 
Colonel's  Plan  for  Punishing  Confirmed  Criminals — Croton  Point  and 
the  Origin  of  its  Name — The  Beauties  of  Croton  Bay — The  Croton 
Dam — Scene  of  Andre  and  Arnold's  Meeting  near  I  laveistraw — 
Mental  Pictures — Stony  Point — Hcndtick  Hudson  and  the  Indians — 
The  Capture  of  Stony  Point  by"  Mad  Anthony" — Edith's  Dislike  of 
War — The  Colonel's  Opinion 97 


Contents.  9 

chapter  vii. 

THROUGH   THE   HIGHLANDS. 

The  Scenery  of  the  Highlands — The  Hudson  Formerly  a  Lake — 
Peekskill — Origin  of  its  Name — The  Beautiful  Lady  Spy — Fishing 
in  Peekskill  Bay — Ice  Boats— Donderberg  Point  and  the  Horse-race 
— Legend  of  the  Phantom  Ship — The  Fiend  Exorcised  by  Dominie 
Von  Geisen — Ignorance  and  Superstition — Anthony's  Nose  and  its 
Legend — Lake  Sinnipink  and  its  Tragedy — Montgomery  Creek — 
What  some  Germans  said  of  the  Hudson — Beverly  Dock — Arnold's 
Escape — Cozzen's  Landing — Vexation  of  Arthur — His  Sensible  Con- 
clusion    Page  115 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

AT   WEST   POINT. 

The  Parade  Ground — The  Big  Chain — The  Cadet's  Cemetery — 
Ruins  of  Fort  Putnam — Washington's  Narrow  Escape  from  a  Trai- 
tor's Snare — Baseness — Trip  to  Cold  Spring — Indian  Brook — Edith's 
Meekness — A  Picturesque  View  up  the  River 140 

CHAPTER   IX. 

FROM    WEST   POINT   TO   NEWBURGH. 

Adieu  to  West  Point — Highland  Entrance  to  Newburgh  Bay — 
Turk's  Face  Destroyed  by  a  Laborer — Scene  of  Drake's  "  Culprit 
Fay" — Upper  Entrance  to  the  Highlands — Indian  Superstitions — 
Dutch  Legends  of  Spirits  and  Fireflies — Fishkill  Landing — New- 
burgh— Trip  to  Idlewild — Washington's  Head-quarters — How  Wash- 
ington Quelled  a  Mutiny — Visit  to  Fishkill — On  the  Steamer 
Again 157 

CHAPTER   X. 

FROM   NEWBURGH   TO   THE   KATZBERGS. 

The  Devil's  Dance  Chamber — An  Indian  Powwow — Wappingi's 
Creek — Poughkeepsie — Legend   of   the    Pequod    Maiden    and   her 


io  Contents. 

Lover — Rondout — The  Dutchman's  Fright — Rhinebeck — The  Brave 
Montgomery — Saugerties — Vaughan's  Raiders  at  Clermont — Living- 
ston and  the  "Clermont" — Hendrick  Hudson  It  Katzkill — Katzkill 
Landing Page  172 

CHAPTER   XL 

AMONG  THE   KATZKILLS. 

Ascending  the  Katzbergs — The  Rip  Van  Winkle  Legend — A  Com- 
pliment with  a  Sting  in  It — Indian  Legends  of  the  Katzkills — Rip 
Van  Winkle's  Cabin — A  Disappointment — The  View  from  the  Mount- 
ain  House — At  Katerskill  Falls — Palensville  and  its  Vicinity — Ex. 
cursions — Edith's  Sentimentality — Arthur  Grows  Poetical — Stage 
Ready 1S5 

CHAPTER   XII. 

FROM  THE  KATZKILLS  TO  ALBANY. 

A  Break-neck  Drive — View  of  the  City  of  Hudson — Story  of  the 
Lebanon  Shakers — The  River  between  Hudson  and  Albany — What 
the  Colonel  told  them  about  Albany — At  the  Delavan  House — Mrs- 
Grant's  Picture  of  Life  in  Albany  in  its  Early  Days — General  Schuy- 
ler's Mansion — Anecdotes — Adieu  to  Albany 200 

CHAPTER   XIII. 

FROM  TROY  TO  THE  FALLS  OF  THE  BATTENKILL. 

On  Mount  Ida — The  Arsenal  at  West  Troy — Lansingburgh — Co- 
hoes'  Cataract — At  Stillwater — The  Story  of  Burgoyne's  Capture 
briefly  Told — Anecdote  of  General  Fraser — At  Schuylcrville— Scene 
of  a  Massacre  Instigated  by  a  Priest — Fish  Creek — Beautiful  Scenery 
of  the  Battenkill 215 

CHAPTER    XIV. 

FROM    THE    BATTENKILL   TO    LAKE    GEORGE. 

Tin-  Rapids  at  Fori  Miller — "Old  Put's"  Adventure  on  the  Rap- 
i,]s — At    Fort    Edward — Putnam's    Bravery  when    the    Fort    was   on 


Contents.  i  i 

Fire — Baker's  Falls — The  Story  of  the  Unfortunate  Jane  M'Crea  and 
her  Military  Lover — Glen's  Falls  described  by  Hawk-Eye — Anecdote 
of  Wing  and  Glen — Jessup's  Great  Falls — Confluence  of  the  Hud- 
son and  Sacandaga — Lake  Luzerne — Off  to  Lake  George.  Page  232 

CHAPTER   XV. 

FROM  LAKE  GEORGE  TO  THE  PEAK  OF  TAHAWUS. 

At  Lake  George — Idle  Days — Recalling  Historic  Events — Off  to 
the  Wilderness — Confluence  of  the  Hudson  and  Scarron — An  Aristo- 
crat at  Scarron  Lake — Rough  Travel — Adirondack  Village — Change 
of  Attire — Calamity  Pond — A  Tragic  Anecdote — Camping  Out — 
The  Opalescent  Valley — Climbing  Tahawus — Magnificent  View — A 
Night  in  a  Bark  Camp 246 

CHAPTER   XVI. 

FROM  TAHAWUS  TO  THE  END  OF  THE  TOUR. 

A  Sabbath  in  Camp — Lake  Colden — The  Iron  Dam — The  Indian 
and  the  Ore — A  Tough  Ride — Boating  on  Harris's  Lake — Elephant 
Island — A  Clearing  on  the  Upper  Hudson — Catlin  Lake — Fountain 
Lake — Through  a  Swamp — Hudson's  Spring — Linden  Sea — Raquette 
River — The  Saranac  Lakes — Back  to  Englewood  Cliffs 264 


J 1 1  u  8 1  r  a  t  i  0  n  g . 


Page 

Manhattanville,  from  Clermont 2 

Spuyten  Duyvel  Creek 22 

Under  the  Palisades 27 

View  on  Washington  Heights 32 

Jeffrey's  Hook 35 

Bull's  Ferry t 38 

Dueling  Ground  at  Weehawken 41 

batteky  and  castle  garden 45 

Fort  Hamilton 47 

Sandy  Hook,  from  the  Light-house 50 

Navy  Yard,  Brooklyn 53 

Van  Wart's  Monument 59 

View  near  Hastings 62 

Distant  View  at  Tarrytown 64 

View  on  the  Pocanteco,  from  Irving  Park 67 

Paulding  Manor 69 

Sunnyside 71 

The  Brook  at  Sunnyside 73 

The  Pond,  or  Mediterranean  Sea,  as  it  was  formerly  75 

Irving's  Study 77 

py  Hollow  Bridge 83 

Spot  on  which  Andre  was  Arrested S6 

: e  Arrested  

Rockland  Lake 94 

Van  Cortlandt  Manor  House 95 

Stati    Prison  at  Sing  Sing 102 

Croton  Point  from  Sing  Sing 104 

Mouth  oe  the  Croton 105 

High  Bridge  over  the  Croton 107 

roN  Dam 10S 

\i\ ii"/ 

Verplanck's  Point,  prom  Stony  Point  Light-house....  hi 


Illustrations.  13 

PiOB 

Anthony  Wayne 113 

The  Peekskill  by  Moonlight  in  Winter 117 

Paulding's  Monument 117 

Winter  Fishing 1 20 

Ice-boat  and  Skaters  on  Peekskill  Bay 122 

Donderberg  Point.. 123 

The  Brocken  Kill 12S 

Anthony's  Nose  and  the  Sugar  Loaf '. .  130 

Lake  Sinnipink 131 

Falls  in  Montgomery  Creek 133 

Beverly  Dock 134 

Upper  Cascades,  Buttermilk  Falls 136 

The  Road  from  Cozzen's  Dock 138 

The  Parade  at  West  Point 140 

The  Great  Chain  and  the  Captured  Mortars 143 

Cold  Spring,  from  the  Cemetery 144 

Fort  Putnam,  from  the  West 14C 

Indian  Brook 153 

View  from  Rossiter's  Mansion 155 

Highland  Entrance  to  Newburgh  Bay 158 

Turk's  Face,  Breakneck  Mountain 159 

Scene  off  the  Storm  King  Valley 161 

Upper  Entrance  to  the  Highlands  162 

Fishkill  Landing  and  Newburgh 164 

Idlewild,  from  the  Brook 165 

In  the  Glen  at  Idlewild 166 

Washington's  Head-quarters 168 

Head-quarters  of  General  Knox 1 70 

Mouth  of  Wappingi's  Creek 174 

Highlands,  from  Poughkeepsie 175 

Rondout  Creek 17S 

The  Katzbergs,  from  Montgomery  Place 1S0 

Mouth  of  Esopus  Creek,  Saugerties 181 

View  at  De  Koven's  Bay 1S3 

Entrance  to  the  Katzbergs 1S6 

Katers-kill  Falls 194 

The  Fawn's  Leap 196 

Scene  near  Palensville 197 

View  from  the  Promenade,  Hudson 200 

View  near  the  Overslaugh 202 

Dudley  Observatory 204 

2 


14  Illustration-. 

tage 

Sleigh  Riding  on  the  Hudson 207 

General  Schuyler's  Mansion,  Albany 212 

Street  View  in  Ancient  Albany 213 

View  of  Troy,  from  Mount  Ida 215 

Rensselaer  and  Saratoga  Railroad  Bridge 21S 

YYaterford  and  Lansingburgh  Bridge 219 

Burgoyne's  Encampment  at  Wilbur's  Basin 222 

e  of  Burgoyne's  Surrender 223 

Rope  Ferry 226 

Rapids  of  the  Fish  Creek,  at  Schuyleryille 227 

Confluence  of  the  Hudson  and  Battenkill 229 

Dl-ON-ON-DEH-O-WA,    OR    GREAT    FALLS    OF    THE    BaTTENKILL    230 

View  at  Fort  Edward 234 

Baker's  Falls 236 

Glen's  Falls 239 

Kaii-che-bon-cook,  or  Jesup's  Great  Falls 242 

Confluence  of  the  Hudson  and  Sacandaga 244 

Luzerne  Lake 245 

Confluence  of  the  Hudson  and  Scarron 249 

Adirondack  Village 252 

First  Bridge  over  the  Hudson 254 

Bark  Cabin  at  Calamity  Pond 255 

Fail  in  the  Opalescent  River 25S 

Climbing  Mount  Tahawus 260 

I  [1  (spice  on  the  Peak  of  Mount  Tahawus 262 

Lake  Colden 265 

The  Iron   Dam 267 

RAPIDS  at  the  Head  of  II arris's  Lake 269 

El  1  Mi  ant  Island 270 

First  Saw-mill  on  the  Hudson 272 

First  Clearing  on  the  Hudson 273 

Catlin  Lake    274 

Swamp  Travei 277 

R  \'.>ri  III    Riveb 280 

■vnts  of  Ui'i'i  1:  Hudson  Forests 2S1 

A   I  -OG-HOUSE  in  the  Forest 283 


SUMMER  DAYS  ON  THE  HUDSON. 


CHAPTER    I. 

ON   AND    UNDER   THE   PALISADES. 
jTlMAGINE  a  bright,  bland  morning  in  June.     A 


party  of  six  is  seated  on  the  spacious  piazza  of 
the  Mountain  House,  which  stands  on  the  Palisades 
of  our  noble  Hudson,  near  the  beautiful  village  of 
Englewood.  The  seniors  of  this  little  coterie  are 
Colonel  Charles  Macintosh,  a  rich  bachelor,  on  the 
shady  side  of  fifty,  and  his  sister,  Mrs.  Ida  Stuart, 
a  widow  somewhat  older.  The  colonel  is  a  man  of 
commanding  height,  aspect,  and  manner.  His  air 
is  military.  His  oval  face  is  well  covered  with 
beard,  mustache,  and  whiskers,  all  which,  like  his 
hair,  are  iron-gray.  His  clear,  dark  eyes,  though 
restless  and  penetrating,  have  in  them  a  softened 
light,  which  proclaims  the  presence  of  a  kindly 
spirit,  as  does  the  smile  which  is  constantly  playing, 
like  rays  of  sunshine,  from  his  thin,  finely  chiseled 
lips.  A  distant  view  of  the  colonel  might  repel  the 
advances  of  a  stranger.     A  nearer  approach  would 


1 6  Summer  Days  ox  the  Hudson. 

'  The  tourists  described. 

both  command  his  respect  and  invite  his  confidence. 
Moreover,  the  colonel  is  a  Christian  gentleman. 

Mrs.  Stuart  is  unlike  her  brother  in  form  and 
manner.  She  is  short,  stout,  round  as  a  dumpling, 
with  no  stateliness  in  her  manner ;  but  she  has  the- 
same  kindly  expression  beaming  from  her  blue  eyes 
and  playing  on  her  lips.  In  her  prime  she  was  a 
blonde,  and  was  regarded  as  a  beauty.  Even  now 
she  is  a  matronly  lady  who  attracts  attention,  and 
favorably  impresses  all  who  behold  her. 

The  young  ladies  of  the  party  are  Edith  and 
Jennie  Stuart,  the  widow's  pretty  daughters.  The 
former  is  small — a  blonde — the  reproduction  of 
Mrs.  Stuart  as  she  was  when  of  Edith's  age,  "  sweet 
seventeen;"  the  latter,  who  is  approaching  sixteen, 
is  somewhat  tall,  has  dark  hair  and  eyes,  finely  cut 
features,  and  is  as  lively  and  capricious  as  her  sister 
is  demure  and  steadfast. 

Two  lads,  the  sons  of  a  dear  deceased  friend  ^i 
the  colonel,  complete  the  six.  They  haw  been 
adopted  by  him,  have  taken  his  name,  and  call  him 
father.  They  are  about  the  same  ages  as  the  young 
misses,  whom  they  call  their  cousins,  are  quite 
good  looking,  and  are,  like  them,  enjoying  their 
summer  vacation.  The  elder  is  named  Arthur,  the 
younger,  ( 'larence. 

Having  thus  introduced  our  party  to  the  reader, 


On  and  Under  the  Palisades.  \J 

A  viry  attractive  view. 

we  invite  him  to  listen  awhile  to  their  conversation. 
The  colonel  is  just  saying  to  his  sister : — 

"  I  never  tire  of  this  glorious  view.  Its  extent  is 
so  great/its  objects  so  numerous  and  varied,  one 
always  finds  something,  not  observed  before,  to  in- 
terest him.  At  our  feet  we  have  the  noblest  of 
rivers,  not  inaptly  called  by  some  the  Rhine  of 
America.  To  the  south  lies  New  York,  with  its 
steepled  churches,  and  its  outline  marked  by  a 
narrow  forest  of  masts.  Sweeping  along  to  the 
eastward  is  Long  Island,  dotted  with  countless 
pretty  villages,  and  with  the  glittering  waters  of 
its  noble  Sound,  whitened  by  many  a  sail,  stretched 
at  its  feet.  Between  us  and  that  fine  body  of 
water  we  have  the  wooded  hills  of  Westchester 
crowned  with  beautiful  cottages  and  stately  man- 
sions, the  homes  of  honest  toil,  thrifty  enterprise, 
and  cultivated  tastes.  Looking  north-eastward  we 
see  Connecticut  in  the  distance,  and  nearer  to  us 
we  have  our  river  bank,  on  which  sits  Yonkers, 
like  a  princess  in  some  vast  drawing-room.  But 
for  the  green  woods  which  crown  these  rude  rocks 
we  might  see  far  to  the  north  and  west  across  the 
thrifty  State  of  New  Jersey.  As  it  is,  the  hoary 
tops  of  the  Ramapo  hills  look  down  upon  us  when 
we  look  to  the  west.  Positively  I  never  saw  a  more 
attractive  view,  even  in  Europe." 


1 8  Summer  Days  ox  the  Hudson. 

The  patroons  of  the  Hudson  River  lands. 

"  And  positively  I  never  heard  my  uncle  talk  so 
eloquently,"  said  Miss  Jennie,  looking  archly  at  the 
colonel,  and  laughing. 

"Jennie!"  exclaimed  her  sister,  looking  very 
gravely,  "  how  can  you  speak  so  to  Uncle  Charles?" 

The  colonel  gave  no  attention  to  his  nieces,  but 
continued  gazing  in  rapt  attention  on  the  magnifi- 
cent landscape.  His  sister,  after  shaking  her  head 
reprovingly  at  the  vivacious  Jennie,  remarked, 

"  Yes,  the  view  is  fine,  incomparably  so  in  some 
respects.  I  do  not  wonder  that,  in  earlier  times, 
many  nobles  from  Holland,  France,  and  England, 
divided  yonder  broad  acres  sloping  back  from  this 
glorious  river  into  great  estates ;  nor  that  they* 
sought  to  rule,  like  ancient  barons,  over  the  poorer 
emigrants  from  their  native  land." 

"  Nobles,  mamma  !  Do  you  mean  to  say — do 
you  believe,  I  mean — that  noble  men  and  titled 
ladies  from  Europe  were  ever  settled  along  the 
banks  of  the  1  Iudson?" 

To  this  question,  put  by  the  merry-minded  Jen- 
nie, Airs.  Stuart  replied: — 

rtainly,   my  child.     The   De  Lanceys,   Kips, 

Van  Burggs,  Stuyvesants,  Van  Rensselaers,  De  Pey- 

5,    Phillipses,   and   many  others,   were   people   of 

rank  in  Europe.     They  became  patroons,  and  ruled 

their  tenants  like  barons  on  yonder  lands.      They 


0)1  and  Under  the  Palisades.  19 

Courtly  stylo  of  the  Hudson  River  pentry. 

lived  in  courtly  style,  dressed  in  gold-laced  velvet 
coats,  wore  big  wigs,  ruffles,  and  wide  sleeves.  They 
carried  rapiers,  and  were  '  the  gentry  of  the  country, 
to  whom  the  country,  without  a  rebellious  thought, 
took  off  its  hat.'  Their  tenants  gathered  at  times 
by  hundreds  and  by  thousands,  like  the  ancient 
clansmen  in  Scotland  at  the  call  of  their  chiefs. 
They  were  people  of  real  dignity,  too.  Joseph 
Bonaparte,  who,  in  later  times,  like  Louis  Philippe, 
Lafayette,  and  other  notables,  visited  the  Living- 
ston manor,  once  said  to  a  daughter  of  this  family, 
!  Your  mother  should  have  been  a  queen.' ': 

"  What  you  say  reminds  me,  aunt,  of  a  stanza  in 
a  poem  by  Holmes,"  observed  Arthur,  who,  by  the 
way,  was  much  given  to  reading.  "  Shall  I  repeat 
it?" 

"  By  all  means,"  replied  Mrs.  Stuart  with  an  ap- 
proving smile. 

Arthur  then  recited  the  following  lines,  descrip- 
tive of  the  effect  produced  by  a  gentleman's  turnout 
in  the  olden  time  : — 

"And  all  the  midland  counties  through, 

The  plowman  stopp'd  to  gaze, 
Where'er  his  chariot  swept  in  view 

Behind  the  shining  bays, 
With  mute  obeisance,  grave  and  slow 

Repaid  by  bow  polite — 
For  such  the  way,  with  high  and  low, 

Till  after  Concord's  fight!' 


20  Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 


Effect  of  the  Concord  fight  Jennie's  anger. 

"  Ah  !  that  Concord  fight  was  a  wonderful  event !  " 
exclaimed  the  colonel.  "  It  began  a  new  epoch  in 
the  world's  history.  But  for  that  barons  might  still 
have  lived  in  slothful  pomp,  and  vassals  toiled  in 
hopeless  poverty,  all  over  yonder  beautiful  hills,  and 
through  large  portions  of  this  country." 

"  Then  I  wish  that  Concord  fight  had  never  taken 
place,"  replied  Jennie,  drawing  herself  up  proudly. 
"  I  think  it  would  be  very  nice  to  live  in  a  baronial 
castle,  with  crowds  of  vassals  to  serve  you  and  to 
do  you  reverence  when  you  rode  out  on  your  pal- 
frey, followed  by  a  troop  of  gay  young  knights." 

"  Nice  for  whom,  Cousin  Jennie,  the  barons  and 
their  families,  or  the  poor  cringing  vassals?"  asked 
Clarence  in  a  bantering  tone. 

Jennie's  dark  eyes  flashed  with  resentful  feeling 
as  she  retorted,  in  an  offended  tone, 

"  For  the  barons,  of  course,  Mr.  Macintosh  !  You 
don't  suppose  that  I  should  have  been  a  churl's 
daughter,  do  you  ?" 

Poor  Clarence,  who  was  anxious  to  keep  on  good 
terms  with  his  lively  cousin,  shrank  before  this  out- 
burst of  girlish  anger  and  pride,  and  looked  appeal- 
ingly  to  the  colonel,  who  came  to  his  relief  by 
saying, 

"lut,  tut,  Miss  Jennie.  You  might  have  been 
a   vassal's   daughter,   and    yet    the    superior   of  your 


On  and  Under  the  Palisades.  21 

The  Colonel  rebukes  Jennie  Spuyten  Dnyvel. 

mistress  in  every  thing  that  constitutes  true  nobility. 
Remember,  my  dear,  that  a  poor  maiden  adorned 
with  Christian  virtues  is  more  noble  than  baroness 
or  princess  whose  soul  is  corrupted  by  pride,  vanity, 
and  selfishness." 

Jennie's  eyes  fell  beneath  this  pointed  rebuke. 
She  pouted  and  moved  uneasily  in  her  chair,  when 
Arthur  very  good-naturedly  came  to  her  relief  by 
touching  the  colonel's  arm,  pointing  across  the  river 
to  a  small  stream  flowing  beneath  a  railway  bridge, 
and  asking, 

"Is  that  little  stream  the  creek  of  which  Irving 
speaks  in  his  Diedrich  Knickerbocker's  famous 
History  of  New  York,  as  the  place  where  Anthony, 
the  Dutch  trumpeter,  was  carried  down  by  the 
Evil  One?" 

"  Yes,  Arthur,  that  is  the  Spuyten  Duyvel  Creek. 
Suppose  you  give  us  the  legend." 

Arthur  said  he  had  Diedrich's  famous  history  in 
his  room  and  would  read  it,  which  he  did,  after  get- 
ting the  volume,  as  follows : — 

11  The  wind  was  high,  the  elements  were  in  an 
uproar,  and  no  Charon  could  be  found  to  ferry  the 
adventurous  sounder  of  brass  across  the  water.  For 
a  short  time  he  vapored  like  an  impatient  ghost 
upon  the  brink,  and  then,  bethinking  himself  of 
the  urgency  of  his  errand,  (which  was  to  rouse  the 


22 


Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 


The  legend  of  the  Dutch  trumpeter. 


people  beyond  the  creek  to  arm  and  defend  them- 
selves against  the  English,  who  had  come  to  de- 
mand possession  of  the  city  and  province  of  New 


BPl    'l  I  IN     1>I   •»  VKI.    cm  I  K. 


Amsterdam,)  he  took  a  hearty  embrace  of  his  stone 
hottK-,  swore  most  valorously  that  he  would  swim 
across  in  spite  of  the  devil,  {en  spyt  %den  duyvel) 
and  daringly  plunged  into  the  stream.  Luckless 
Anthony!     Scarcely  had  he  buffeted  halfway  over 


On  and  Under  the  Palisades.  23 

The  fish  that  pulled  Anthony  down. 

when  he  was  observed  to  struggle  violently,  as  if 
battling  with  the  spirit  of  the  waters.  Instinctively 
he  put  his  trumpet  to  his  mouth,  and  giving  a 
vehement  blast,  sank  forever  to  the  bottom  !  The 
clangor  of  his  trumpet,  like  that  of  the  ivory  horn 
of  the  renowned  paladin,  Orlando,  when  expiring 
on  the  glorious  field  of  Roncesvalles,  rang  far  and 
wide  through  the  country,  alarming  the  neighbors 
round,  who  hurried  in  amazement  to  the  spot.  Here 
an  old  Dutch  burgher,  famed  for  his  veracity,  and 
who  had  been  a  witness  of  the  fact,  related  to  them 
the  melancholy  affair ;  with  the  fearful  addition,  [to 
which  I  am  slow  in  giving  belief,]  that  he  saw  the 
duyvel,  in  the  shape  of  a  huge  moss-bunker,  (a 
species  of  inferior  fish,)  seize  the  sturdy  Anthony  by 
the  leg  and  drag  him  beneath  the  waves.  Certain 
it  is,  the  place,  with  the  adjoining  promontory 
which  projects  into  the  Hudson,  has  been  called 
Spyt  den  Duyvel  ever  since." 

"How  funny!"  exclaimed  the  vivacious  Jennie, 
who  had  by  this  time  recovered  from  the  effects  of 
her  uncle's  reproof. 

"  But  it  is  not  true,"  observed  Edith  gravely. 

"Not  wholly,"  replied  the  colonel.  "It  is  pos- 
sible that,  when  the  English  landed  to  attack  the 
burghers  of  New  Amsterdam,  as  New  York  was 
then  named,  a  messenger,  sent  to  alarm  the  colo- 


24  Summer  Days  ox  the  Hudson. 

Ghostly  fears  of  the  Dutch  colonists.  A  boat  trip  proposed. 

nists,  was  drowned  in  an  attempt  to  swim  the  creek. 
All  beyond  this  is  legendary,  a  mingling  of  much 
superstitious  belief  with  a  little  fact.  The  old 
Dutch  colonists  were  very  much  given  to  ghostly 
"fears.  Do  you  remember  Washington  Irving's  story 
of  Dolph  Heyliger,  Arthur?" 

Arthur  laughed,  and  replied  that  he  had  read  it 
more  than  once,  and  was  very  much  delighted  with 
Dolph's  adventures  in  the  Haunted  House  and  on 
the  Hudson,  especially  with  his  success  in  winning 
the  pretty  Marie  Vander  Heyden  for  his  bride.  He 
hoped,  he  said  laughingly,  that  he  should  be  as  for- 
tunate when  he  himself  should  be  old  enough  to 
win  some  fair  maiden. 

This  last  sentence  was  accompanied  with  a  mis- 
chievous glance  at  Miss  Jennie,  who  blushed,  tit- 
tered, and  said  to  her  sister, 

"  How  silly  Cousin  Arthur  can  talk  when  he  tries, 
can't  he,  Edith?" 

But  Edith's  attention  was  diverted  to  Clarence, 
who  was  proposing  a  boat  trip  up  the  river  for  the 
younger  members  of  the  party. 

"  I  should  like  it  very  much  indeed,"  she  said, 
linn  turning  to  Jennie,  who  was  pouting  in  her 
prettiest  way  over  her  sister's  inattention  to  her 
question,  she  added, 

"What  do  you  say  to  that,  Jennie?" 


On  and  Under  the  Palisades.  25 

A  knightly  pledge.  Beautiful  nonsense. 

"To  what?" 

"  To  a  row  up  the  river." 

"  I  should  like  it  much  if  we  only  had  some  one 
to  row  whom  we  could  trust." 

As  Jennie  said  this  she  cast  a  scornful  glance  on 
her  cousins,  on  Arthur  especially.  But  Clarence, 
unmindful  of  her  scorn,  insisted  that  he  and  Arthur 
were  counted  the  best  rowers  in  the  freshman  crew 
at  their  college,  and  were  eminently  worthy  of  being 
trusted  with  the  safety  of  the  young  ladies,  to  whom, 
he  said  playfully,  he  would  pledge  his  knightly 
honor  that  "  they  should  be  returned  to  their  lady 
mother  without  a  wrinkle." 

"Without  .a  wrinkle!"  exclaimed  Jennie,  with 
flashing  eyes,  "what  impudence!  One  would  im- 
agine we  were  a  couple  of  ancient  maidens  of  un- 
certain age  to  hear  him  talk.  I  have  a  great  mind 
not  to  stir  a  step  with  him." 

Clarence  explained  his  remark  by  saying  that  he 
only  intended  to  pledge  himself  that  no  weird  influ- 
ence should  lull  the  young  ladies  into  a  sleep  like 
that  which  overtook  the  famous  Rip  Van  Winkle 
higher  up  the  river ;  but  that  they  should  be  duly 
returned  in  two  or  three  hours  in  all  the  beautiful 
freshness  of  their  youth  and  beauty. 

Jennie  muttered  something  about  "  beautiful  non- 
sense," but  went  with  her  sister  for  her  straw  flat 
3 


26  Summer  Days  ox  the  Hudson. 

A.  romantic  foot-path.  Clarence's  fancy. 

and  parasol.  A  few  minutes  later  the  four  were 
seen  descending  the  steep,  romantic  foot-path  which 
winds  from  near  the  "Mountain  House"  through 
yawning  ravines,  past  huge  masses  of  trap-rock, 
.down  to  the  steamboat  dock,  some  four  hundred 
feet  or  more  below.  Here  they  hired  a  boat, 
which  the  young  men  rowed  up  the  river  two 
or  three  miles,  keeping  near  the  western  shore  so 
as  to  gain  a  near  view  of  those  remarkable  masses 
of  trap  known  as  the  Palisades  of  the  Hudson 
River. 

"What  horrid  rocks  those  are!"  exclaimed  Jen- 
nie, as  Arthur  rowed  close  in  shore  where  the  range 
reached  to  nearly  its  loftiest  height ;  "  they  look  as 
if  there  mi^ht  be  a  desert  filled  with  wild  beasts  be- 
hind  them." 

Edith  thought,  that  though  they  were  rude  and 
wild  there  was  a  savage  grandeur  about  them  which 
awed  her  spirit. 

Arthur  agreed  with  Edith,  as  indeed  he  generally 
did  in  his  opinions,  though  Jennie  was  his  favorite. 
Clarence  sided  with  the  latter,  and  said  : — 

"That  remarkable  ledge  excites  my  wonder,  not 
my  admiration.  I  try  to  fancy  sometimes  the  wild 
tumult  of  the  hour  in  which  this  trap  came  burning 
hot  from  beneath  the  sandstom.  along  a  narrow 
line  not  over  a  mile  in  width,  and   reaching  all  the 


On  and  Under  the  Palisades. 


What  Clarence  wished. 


2£&4w 


UNDER   THE    I'ALISADES. 


way  from  Piermont  to  Hoboken,  rising  in  some 
places  to  the  height  of  four  or  five  hundred  feet,  in 
others   to  between  two  and  three  hundred.     That 


28  Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 

The  country  behind  the  Palisades.  Enjjlewood. 

was  a  grand  movement  of  old  Mother  Nature.  O 
that  I  had  been  here  to  see  it ! " 

"  You  would  have  been  alone  in  your  glory,  then," 
replied  Arthur,  "  for  this  trap  was  upheaved  before 
our  unfortunate  father,  Adam,  saw  the  light." 

"  I  wonder  if  there  are  any  bears  or  wolves  on  the 
top  ! "  exclaimed  Jennie,  shuddering  slightly  as  if 
she  fancied  the  possibility  of  being  seized  and  car- 
ried off  by  some  imaginary  wild  beast. 

"Why  Jennie,  don't  you  know  better?"  asked 
Edith  In  a  half  rebukeful  tone.  "  Haven't  we  driv- 
en to  Tenafly,  Cresskill,  and  Alpine,  which  lie  right 
back  of  these  mighty  rocks?" 

Jennie  had  forgotten  this;  and  Edith  proceeded 
to  express  her  admiration  of  the  beautiful  slope  and 
valley  which  lie  in  rare  and  quiet  beauty  behind  the 
Palisades. 

Clarence  was  surprised,  he  said,  that  this  valley 
had  been  so  long  neglected  by  New  Yorkers,  es- 
pecially in  view  of  its  remarkable  healthfulness. 
"Think  of  it!"  he  exclaimed.  "There  is  Engle- 
wood  township,  with  its  four  thousand  inhabitants, 
and  only  forty  deaths  in  a  year.  One  death  to 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five  people!  Why,  if  the 
whole  valley  is  like  Englewood  it  is  a  perfect  sani- 
tarium, one  of  the  healthiest  places  in  the  land.' 

Arthur  ftingly    that    if   he    didn't 


On  and  Under  the  Palisades.  29 

Arthur's  fancy.  Legend  of  the  Storm  Ship. 

know  his  brother  to  be  as  poor  as  Job's  turkey,  he 
should  take  him  to  be  a  speculator  in  real  estate, 
with  "lots"  beautifully  mapped  out,  and  waiting  for 
buyers  at  fancy  prices.  Then,  resting  on  his  oar, 
he  pointed  to  a  top-sail  schooner  which  was  sailing 
toward  them,  and  said, 

"  I  could  easily  fancy  yonder  vessel  sailing  so  close 
to  the  bluff  to  be  the  Storm  Ship  which,  according 
to  the  old  Dutch  colonists,  once  haunted  this  grand 
old  river." 

"  Tell  us  about  it,  Arthur,"  pleaded  Edith. 

Arthur,  whose  head  was  a  library  of  legends,  gave 
the  oars  to  his  brother,  who  rowed  slowly  down  the 
river  while  Arthur  told  the  legend  of  the  Storm 
Ship,  as  related  by  Irving  in  his  veritable  story  of 
Dolph  Heyliger.  How  she  came  across  the  ocean 
freighted  with  ghostly  Dutchmen,  wearing  high- 
crowned  hats  with  feathers.  How  she  frightened 
the  portly  old  mynheers  of  New  Amsterdam.  How 
the  redoubtable  old  Captain  Hans  Van  Pelt  vainly 
sought  to  board  her,  how  she  sailed  far  up  the  river, 
no  one  knew  whither,  and  how  she  appeared  and 
disappeared  at  different  times  and  various  places,  to 
the .  terror  of  the  Dutch  skippers  and  their  crews, 
whose  vessels  sailed  on  these  haunted  waters.  This 
weird    story,  the   sleepy  air,   which   seemed    to    be 

wooing  the  still,  sunlit  water  to  its  embraces,  and 
3* 


3C  Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 

The  return  to  the  Mountain  House. 

the  steady  motion  of  the  skiff  so  beguiled  the  fleet- 
ing hours,  that  when  the  boat  touched  her  landing- 
place  they  were  all  surprised  to  find,  on  looking  at 
their  watches,  that  the  afternoon  was  fast  wearing 
away. 

"  We  shall  have  barely  time  to  get  rested  and 
dress  for  dinner,"  said  Jennie  as  she  skipped  across 
the  beach  to  the  rustic  foot-path  leading  up  to  the 
"  Mountain  House." 


Yacht  Excursion  to  Sandy  Hook.  31 


On  board  a  steam  yacht  Washington  Heights. 


CHAPTER   II. 

YACHT   EXCURSION  TO   SANDY   HOOK. 

DAY  or  two  after  their  pleasant  boat  trip 
-  the  young  folks  were  greatly  delighted  by  an 
invitation  to  go  down  the  river  to  Sandy  Hook  in  a 
small  steam  yacht  owned  by  a  friend  of  the  colonel. 
This  little  craft,  which  was  pronounced  a  "  perfect 
little  beauty"  by  the  young  ladies,  found  our  joyous 
party  on  the  wharf  at  eight  o'clock,  and  after  taking 
them  on  board,  steamed  away  at  once  to  Washing- 
ton Heights,  formerly  Mount  Washington. 

The  colonel,  full  of  the  military  associations  con- 
nected with  this  locality,  requested  the  captain  of 
the  yacht  to  land  them  at  a  small  wharf  whence  they 
could  readily  ascend  the  height. 

"  How  beautiful!"  exclaimed  Edith  as  the  party 
reached  a  point  in  the  road  from  which  a  charm- 
ing villa,  standing  upon  the  summit  of  a  sloping, 
smoothly  shaven  lawn,  came  into  view. 

"  It's  perfectly  splendid  !  "  replied  her  lively  sister. 

"Just  peep  between  those  trees,"  said  Clarence, 
pointing  backward.  "  Sec  th'ose  bold  bluffs  yonder  ! 
See,  too,  the  face  of  old  Father  Hudson  shimmer- 


Si  \i\ii  i:    DAYS   ON   THE    Hi  D 


i  v  •<  1 1  \  in 


\  ii  \s     .in    WAtUll 

|n.    I,,   the    lunshine.     Its  ripples  look   like  nappy 

smil 

■•  i  i,,w  poetical  we  are '."  retorted  Jennie,  with  a 

little    ar<  .1  1  i<   laugh, 


Yacht  Excursion  to  Sandy  I  look. 

Mi,  ,1m  i  ol  d<  ad  bi 

"  We  ( .in  afford  to  be  poet  ii  al,"  said  I  he  pal  i  iol  i< 
colonel.     "  Nature  .nxl  .11 1  ha\ e  combined  to  mal  i 
i In  ,  spi 'i   .i  ",.n 'l<-ii  <>!'  delighl  .     Vet  I  <  annol  help 
sighing  when  I  think  thai  we  are  walking  over  the 
du  i  i  'i  hi  1 1  m     .ind  pal  riots,  and  1 1). it  i  he  I <  >< ><  1  \\  hich 
gives  i  li«-  roses  and  lilies  of  yonder  pleasure  grounds 
their  richesl  tints  comes,  in  part  .it  least,  from  1 1 1 * 
remains  oi  brave  men  whose  blood  was  freel)  spilt 
in  defense  <>f  liberty."  • 

"  ( ),  uncle  !  I   hope  you  don't   mean  to  say  I  li.it 

\\<-   .lie    W  , ill. ill;;    n\  <T   (K  .id    HM  1)  '•.   I  ><  >lh  S  !  "    I  I  l<  d     |  I   li 

in'-,  with  an  expression  of  horror  which  was  partly 
affe<  ted  and  pari  ly  real. 

"  Perhaps  nol  their  bones,  my  dear,  1  >u i  then-  dusl 
certainly.     We  are  passing  over  ground  on  which 
many  ol  our  ( ounl  r\  men  and  many  Bril  ish  soldii  i 
fell   in   the  struggli    for  the  possession  of  the   fori 
w  hie  h  sto< »d  on  t  hesi    hi  ights  in  1 7; '»,  and  in  u  hii  h 

they  wen:  buried." 

The  colonel  then  proceeded  to  tell  his  inter*  ted 
listeners  how,  aftei  the  evacuation  of  Mew  Vork  by 
Washington's  army,  General  Greene,  acting  in  op 
position  to  Washington's  judgment,  resolved  to  de 
fend  Fori  Washington.  On  the  [  6th  of  November, 
the  British  advanced  with  superior  force-  from  four 
points.  They  were  bravely  met.  Our  half-naked 
heroes  conte  ted  the  ground  outside  the  fori ,  in<  h 


34  Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 

The  fall  uf  Fort  Washington.  Jeffrey's  Hook. 

by  inch,  from  noon  till  toward  evening.  At  last, 
driven  inside  the  fort,  where  they  were  too  crowd- 
ed to  act,  and  when  batteries  on  the  adjacent  hills 
were  ready  to  rake  them  with  deadly  cross-fires,  they 
reluctantly  hauled  down  the  flag  they  had  so  hon- 
orably defended.  Hundreds  had  fallen,  and  over 
twenty-eight  hundred  were  made  prisoners,  and 
sent  to  the  prison-ships  at  New  York  to  suffer  tor- 
tures worse  than  death. 

During  the  relation  of  this  and  other  stories  of 
the  war  by  the  colonel,  our  party  had  slowly  walked 
to  various  points  to  enjoy  the  magnificent  views, 
"  nearly  equal  to  that  from  the  Mountain  House," 
Edith  said,  and  had  descended  to  the  river  again, 
at  a  point  known  as  Jeffrey's  Hook.  Here,  point- 
ing to  some  mounds  covered  with  waving  cedars, 
the  colonel  said, 

"Here,  too,  stood  a  redoubt  built  to  protect 
some  obstructions  thrown  across  the  river  by  that 
resolute  old  revolutionary  chieftain,  General  Put- 
nam, to  prevent  the  British  licet  passing  up  the 
river.  And  yonder,  [pointing  to  the  Palisades  on 
the  opposite  side,]  on  those  lofty  rocks,  stood  Fori 
Lee,  from  near  which  our  Washington  witnessed 
the  defeat  of  his  troops  in  front  of  Fort  Washing- 
ton. It  was  there,  that  beholding  the  slaughter  of 
the    patriots   by   the    Hessians,   who,   with    brutal 


)  'ac/it  Excursion  to  Sandy  1  look. 


35 


Washington's  tears, 


cruelty,  refused  to  give  quarter,  that  the  general, 
who  was  :us  tender-hearted  as  he  was  brave,  was  so 
completely  overcome  that  he  '  wept  with  the  ten- 
derness of  a  child.'  " 


"  If  ever  I  become  an  artist  I  will  surely  paint 
that  spectacle!"  exclaimed  Clarence  enthusiastic- 
ally. 

"Then  Washington's  tears  will  never  appear  in 
paint,"  retorted   Jennie,  who  always  found  a  mis- 


36  Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 

A  daring  deed.  A  charmed  life. 

chicvous  delight  in  "taking  down"  her  Cousin 
Clarence. 

A  sharp  answer  rose  to  the  young  man's  tongue, 
but  it  was  prevented  by  the  colonel's,  "tut,  tut," 
and  1)>'  Mrs.  Stuart,  who  said, 

"  Isn't  it  best  for  us  to  return  to  our  little  steam- 
boat?" 

Once  more  comfortably  seated  on  board  their 
gay  little  launch,  our  party  listened  to  Arthur,  who 
said,  as  they  steamed  gayly  alon 

"There  was  one  daring  deed  done  on  the  day  of 
that  fight  which  I  love  to  remember.  When  Wash- 
ington saw  Ins  patriot  troops  driven  into  the  fort, 
he  called  for  a  volunteer  to  carry  a  note  across  the 
river  to  Colonel  Magaw,  requesting  him  to  hold  the 
fort,  if  possible,  until  night,  when  he  would  try  to 
bring  off  the  garrison. 

"  A  Boston  man.  Captain  Gooch  by  name,  in- 
stantly accepted  the  perilous  trust.  He  hurried 
down  the  mountain  path,  leaped  into  a  little  boat, 
rowed  swiftly  across  the  river,  landed,  ran  up  to 
the  fort,  delivered  his  message,  obtained  an  answer, 

and  then  by  running,  fighting,  and  dodging  the  red 
COatS  who  held  the  ground,  finally  reached  his  bu.it 

and  recrossed  the  river." 

"That  man  certainly  carried  a  charmed  life,"  re- 
marked  Mrs.  Stuart. 


Yacht  Excursion  to  Sandy  Hook.  37 

The  caprices  of  Fame.  A  lovely  spot. 

"  Had  he  been  a  Roman  of  the  olden  time,"  re- 
joined Arthur,  "  the  poets  would  have  immortal- 
ized him  with  their  Horatii,  Cocles,  and  others, 
whose  deeds  were  not  a  bit  more  heroic,  as  I  can 
perceive,  than  that  of  the  daring  Henry  Gooch." 

"  Fame  is  a  capricious  goddess,  my  son,"  observed 
the  colonel.  "  Sometimes  she  writes  the  most  de- 
serving names  on  her  scroll ;  quite  as  often  she  in- 
scribes those  which  might  better  be  left  to  rot  in 
dull  oblivion ;  but  in  every  age  she  omits  to  em- 
blazon names  whose  merits  are  equal,  if  not  supe- 
rior, to  those  of  her  more  favored  sons  and  daughters. 
Let  this  teach  you  not  to  work  for  a  place  on  her 
roll,  but  for  the  approval  of  your  own  conscience 
and  of  the  All-seeing  One,  and  for  the  good  of 
mankind." 

The  gravity  of  these  remarks  checked  conver- 
sation for  a  few  moments ;  but  when  the  steamer 
passed  the  height  which  abruptly  breaks  off  at  Fort 
Lee,  and  was  opposite  the  charming  strip  of  mead- 
ow, behind  which  the  Palisades  are  less  broken  and 
forbidding,  Miss  Edith  exclaimed, 

"  O,  mamma,  what  a  charming  spot  !  It  might 
well  be  the  Happy  Valley  of  Dr.  Johnson  in  his 
Rasselas.' " 

"  It  is  called  Pleasant  Valley,  my  dear,"  observed 
the  colonel ;   "  but  the  crowds  of  pleasure  seekers 


33 


Simmer  Days  ox  the  Hudson. 


A  He  Ightfnl  retreal  spoiled. 


from  New  York,  who  throng  it  in  the  summer  sea- 
son, prevent  its  being  a  very  desirable  place  of 
residence.     But  for  that  annoyance  it  would  be  a 


delightful  retreat  for  weary  V  w  Yorkers,  as  would 

Bull's  Ferry  also,  which  you  see  just  below,  where 

a  long  wharf  juts  into  tin-  river.  The    British   had 

a  block-house  there  at  one   time  during  tin-    Revo- 


YacJit  Excursion  to  Sandy  Hook.  39 

A  tragic  coincidence.  Jennie's  opinion  of  a  spy's  death. 

lution.  General  Wayne  attacked  it  one  night  while 
his  dragoons  were  driving  off  some  cattle  from  the 
country  below ;  but  he  met  with  a  repulse  and  a 
loss  of  sixty  men  killed  and  wounded.  The  unfort- 
unate Major  Andre  wrote  a  satirical  poem,  called 
1  The  Cow  Chase,'  to  commemorate  the  event.  In 
its  last  stanza  he  said : — 

"  'And  now  I've  closed  my  epic  strain, 
I  tremble  as  I  show  it, 
Lest  this  same  warrior-drover,  Wayne, 
Should  ever  catch  the  poet.' 

"  By  a  curious  and  tragic  coincidence  the  young 
man  was  actually  arrested  on  the  very  day  that  the 
last  portion  of  his  poem  appeared  in  print,  and  the 
guard  which  surrounded  him  when  he  died  the 
death  of  a  convicted  spy  was  part  of  a  force  under 
the  command  of  the  '  warrior-drover,  Wayne,'  whom 
he  had  ridiculed  so  unmercifully." 

"  I've  often  read  about  Major  Andre,  and  I  think 
it  was  a  cruel  shame  to  hang  such  a  nice  young 
man.     Washington  ought  to  have  saved  his  life." 

This  was  said  with  spirit  and  deep  feeling  by 
Jennie,  whose  flushed  face  and  flashing  eyes  showed 
the  earnestness  of  her  opinion.  Edith  looked  at 
her  wonderingly  and  exclaimed, — 

"Why,  Jennie  Stuart!" 

"Jennie  views  the  question  through  her  feelings," 


40  Summer  Days  ox  the  Hudson. 

Romantic  scenery.  A  fortress  of  the  Evil  One. 

said  the  colonel,  smiling  blandly  on  his  niece. 
u  Washington  would  have  spared  Andre  if  he  could 
have  done  so  safely.  But  in  war  it  is  necessary 
to  make  spies  feel  that  while  pursuing  their  call- 
ing a  gallows'  noose  is  constantly  dangling  over 
their  heads." 

The  attention  of  the  party  was  now  directed  to 
the  romantic  scenery  past  which  their  yacht  was 
gliding.  The  Palisades  appeared  less  lofty  and 
rugged  than  above  Fort  Lee.  Their  face  was  more 
sloping  and  better  covered  with  verdure.  The  little 
cottages,  lying  in  such  cosy  nooks  at  their  base, 
wore  a  charming  air  of  quiet,  which  led  to  renewed 
expressions  of  regret  that  this  lovely  little  vale 
should  be  spoiled,  as  a  place  of  residence,  by  the 
graceless  hordes  of  uproarious  pleasure  seekers  from 
New  York,  who  make  it  their  resort,  especially  on 
the  holy  Sabbath.  Presently,  they  passed  Gutten- 
berg,  with  its  huge  lager  beer  brewery  built  into  the 
cliff,  like  a  fortress  of  the  Evil  One.  Shortly  after, 
they  were  opposite  Weehawken,  or  Weehawk,  as 
the  Indians  called  it,  once  the  delightful  retreat  of 
heat-oppressed  New  Yorkers  in  summer  time,  but 
now  disfigured  by  the  cattle  yards  of  the  Erie  Rail- 
road. 

"Yonder  is  the  once  famous  'Chalk  Farm,'"  said 
the  colonel,  pointing  to  a  small  open  spot  near  the 


Yacht  Excursion  to  Sandy  Hook. 


4i 


A  celebrated  dueling-  ground. 


river's  edge,  "the  ground  on  which  men,  led  by  a 

false  sense  of  honor,  used  to  meet  in  deadly  combat." 

"  Is  that  where  the  notorious  Aaron  Burr  fought 


\\l  ,.^;-  ^wm*, 


DL'EUNG   GROUND    AT    WEEHAWKEN. 


a  duel  with  the  celebrated  Alexander  Hamilton  ? " 

inquired  Mrs.  Stuart. 

"  It  is,  my  dear.     That  is  where   Hamilton,  the 

distinguished   lawyer   and    statesman,   lost  his   life, 
4* 


42  Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 

A  tragic  scene  recalled.  An  Indian  legend. 

through  lack  of  moral  courage  to  refuse  the  chal- 
lenge of  Burr.  It  makes  one's  blood  run  cold  to 
call  up  the  tragic  scene — to  see,  in  imagination,  these 
two  men  crossing  the  river  with  their  seconds  and 
physicians,  ascend  to  that  blood-stained  ground, 
stand  face  to  face  with  pistols  in  their  hands,  and 
deliberately  fire,  Burr's  shot  giving  his  adversary  a 
mortal  wound,  and  Hamilton's  ball  striking  the 
branch  of  a  tree  overhead.  How  such  a  horrid  deed 
could  heal  a  man's  wounded  honor  I  cannot  see." 

"  But  I  thought  Hamilton  did  not  return  Burr's 
fire,"  said  Arthur. 

"  So  his  seconds  said,  my  son,  but  Burr's  seconds 
affirmed  that  he  did.  Which  were  right  matters 
little.  Burr  was  a  murderer,  and  Hamilton,  by 
consenting  to  the  duel,  became  his  accomplice. 
Hamilton,  who  believed  dueling  to  be  a  crime, 
ought  to  have  been  brave  enough  to  decline  that 
wicked  method  of  settling  their  differences.  But 
let  us  leave  that  question.  There  is  a  legend  about 
old  Hendrick  Hudson's  first  visit  to  the  Indians  at 
Wcehawken.     Will  you  hear  it?" 

"  O  yes,  uncle,  certainly.  Wre  all  like  legends, 
especially  of  the  Indians." 

To  this  remark  of  Edith  they  all  assented.  The 
colonel  then  told  them  that  when  the  Indians  first 
saw  Hendrick  Hudson's  vessel,  the  Half  Moon,  they 


Yacht  Excursion  to  Sandy  Hook.  43 


Hendrick  Hudson  giving1  fire-water  to  the  Indians. 

thought  it  was  a  moving  house  in  which  the  Mani- 
tou,  or  Good  Spirit,  had  come  to  pay  them  a  visit. 
When  Hudson  landed  among  them,  dressed  in  a 
red  military  coat,  the  children  of  the  forest  hailed 
him  as  the  Manitou,  and  gathered  about  him  with 
reverential  awe.  Hudson,  who  seemed  to  have 
been  something  of  a  wag,  bowed  to  them  in  return. 
He  then  commanded  one  of  his  men  to  pour  some 
liquor  from  an  elegant  decanter  or  bottle  into  a 
goblet.  The  jolly  explorer  emptied  the  glass  at  a 
single  draught,  and,  having  had  it  refilled,  handed 
it  to  the  chief  nearest  to  him.  The  Indian  smelled 
it,  and  passed  it  untasted  to  the  next.  Thus  it 
went  round  the  circle ;  when  one  of  the  warriors 
made  a  talk  in  which  he  warned  them  not  to  re- 
turn the  liquor  to  the  Manitou  lest  he  should  be 
•offended.  Somebody  must  drink  it,  he  said,  and 
come  what  would  he  would  swallow  the  contents  of 
the  goblet.  Then,  with  the  air  of  a  man  about  to 
sacrifice  himself  for  the  public  good,  he  took  the 
glass,  smelled  it,  bade  his  friends  farewtn,  and  swal- 
lowed the  liquor.  Very  soon  he  began  to  reel  and 
stagger  like  one  bereft  of  self-control.  Then  he  fell 
down  like  one  dead.  Upon  this  the  women  be- 
gan to  make  piteous  lamentations,  which  presently 
ceased  when  they  found  that  he  still  breathed  and 
appeared  to  sleep.     By  and  by  he  awoke,  jumped 


44  Summer  Days  on  the  Hldson. 

The  Indians'1  worst  enemy.  Passing  Castle  Garden. 

up,  declared  that  he  had  never  been  so  happy  in  his 
life,  and  demanded  more  of  the  charmed  liquor. 
Hudson  gave  him  more,  gave  the  others  all  they 
would  drink,  and,  in  short,  made  them  all  most  in- 
gloriously  drunk. 

"This,"  said  the  colonel  in  concluding  the  legend,'* 
"  is  the  way  the  poor  Indians  became  acquainted 
with  that  fire-water  which  proved  to  be  the  worst 
enemy  they  ever  met.  It  has  done  them  more  hurt 
than  the  bullets  of  the  pale  faces." 

"  And  wrought  more  wretchedness  and  destroyed 
more  lives  among  the  pale  faces  than  Indian  torch 
or  tomahawk  ever  did,"  added  Mrs.  Stuart. 

""I  think  it  was  very  mean  of  Ilendrick  Hudson 
to  give  them  the  fire-water  at  all,"  said  Edith. 

"  Very  mean,  no  doubt,"  replied  the  colonel. — 
"But  here  we  are  almost  opposite  the  Battery  and 
Castle  Garden,  once  the  grand  promenade  of  the 
gayest  belles  in  New  York,  but  now  the  lounging 
ground  of  loafers,  and  the  landing-place  of  emi- 
grants." 

Mrs.  Stuart  thought  it  was  a  pity  that  the  stern 
needs  of  commerce  should  have  driven  the  merchant 

princes  from  their  mansions  around  the  once  beau- 

l  ia<lition  locates  this  legend  variously — at  Weehawken,  Man- 
hattan   Island,    and    Albany.      It    is   not   unlikely   that    it    describes   n 

scene  frequently  repeated   in  those  first    meetings  of  Indians  and 

men. 


Yacht  Excursion  to  Sandy  Hook. 


45 


Commerce  and  elegant  homes. 


New  York  Bay. 


tiful  Battery  to  the  less  attractive  uptown  streets ; 
but  the  colonel  said  it  was  all  right,  because  com- 
merce is  to  cleeant  homes  what  the  fountain  is  to 


THE   BATTF.KY   AND    CASTLE   GARDEN. 


the  stream.  He  then  called  their  attention  to  the 
spacious  bay  into  which  they  were  now  steaming, 
and  which  was  dotted  with  white-winged  sailing 
ships,  stately  steamers,  and  little  puffing  steam- 
tugs,  which  made  him,  he  said,  almost  fancy  they 


46  Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 

A  quaint  conceit.  A  shoal  of  porpoises. 

were  offended  river  gods  rushing  hither  and  thither 
seeking  the  destruction  of  the  countless  vessels 
which  constantly  disturbed  the  quiet  of  their  an- 
cient reign.  At  which  quaint  conceit  Miss  Jennie 
smilingly  remarked  to  Arthur,  with  something  of 
irony  in  her  tone, — 

"  I  did  not  know  Uncle  Charles  was  so  poetical." 

*'  This  beautiful  bay  is  charming  enough  to  draw 
poetry  from  a  stone,  Miss  Jennie,"  retorted  Arthur, 
who  was  intent  on  viewing  Jersey  City  (once  known 
as  Paulus'  Hook)  and  Staten  Island  through  his 
field  glass. 

This  pointed  retort  put  a  pretty  pout  upon  the 
young  girl's  lips,  which  was  speedily  removed,  how- 
ever, when  Edith  exclaimed,  "  O,  look!  see,  Jennie, 
there  is  a  shoal  of  porpoises!" 

Instantly  all  eyes  were  directed  to  the  gambols 
of  numerous  huge  black  fishes,  now  leaping  sport- 
ively almost  out  of  the  water  and  then  plunging 
under  again.  A  pretty  spectacle  often  witnessed 
in  the  bay. 

Very  soon  the  yacht  passed  Governor's  Island, 
and  sped  her  way  into  the  Narrows,  which  connects 
the  outer  and  inner  bay.  Here  their  attention  was 
diverted  by  the  villa-crowned  hills  of  Staten  Island 
on  the  right,  and  the  less  elevated  shores  of  L< 
Island  on    the   left.     As  they  shot  between    Fort 


Yacht  Excursion  to  Sandy  Hook. 


47 


The  forts. 


Torpedoes  ;md  iron-dads. 


Hamilton,  built  on  the  island  shore,  and   Fort  La- 
fayette, formerly  Fort  Diamond,   standing  upon  a 


« 


FORT    HAMILTON. 


reef  of  rocks  only  about  two  hundred  feet  distant, 
Clarence  observed, — 

"  It  would  go  hard  even  with  an  iron  clad  if  she 
came  between  the  guns  of  these  two  forts. 

The  colonel  said  thTat  it  was  very  difficult  to  de- 
cide how  much  fire  a  first  class  iron-clad  could  en- 
dure without  destruction,  but  he  thought  that,  aided 
by  torpedoes,  these  two  forts,  with  Forts  Tompkins 
and   Richmond   on   the   Staten   Island   side,  would 


48  Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 

A  grand  deed.  An  incongruous  remark. 

destroy  any  fleet  which  might  have  the  hardihood 
to  attempt  the  passage  of  the  Narrows  with  warlike 
intent.  "  But,"  added  the  colonel  gravely,  "  old 
soldier  as  I  am,  I  hope  the  experiment  will  never 
be  tried.  War  is  inhuman  work  at  best,  and  the 
simple  deed  of  mercy  performed  by  the  good 
Samaritan  had  more  of  real  glory  in  it  than  the 
proudest  victory  ever  won  by  the  greatest  of  con- 
querors." 

"  Don't  you  think  our  late  war  was  right,  then?" 
asked  Clarence. 

"  Our  war  was  ennobled  on  our  side  by  its  object, 
my  boy,  which  was  to  defend  our  institutions  against 
the  encroachments  of  a  spirit  which  sought  to  make 
human  slavery  their  foundation  stone — " 

"  O  dear,  how  hungry  I  am!"  exclaimed  Jennie, 
cutting  off  her  uncle's  speech,  and  provoking  a  gen- 
eral laugh  by  the  incongruity  between  her  exclama- 
tion and  his  theme. 

The  colonel  joined  in  the  laugh,  and  pulling  out 
his  watch,  replied, 

"  Well,  it  is  getting  on  toward  noon.  We  have 
steamed  slowly  thus  far,  so  that  we  might  enjoy  the 
scenery  of  the  river  and  harbor.  I  will  ask  the 
captain  to  increase  our  speed  no\vr  and  when  we 
reach  Sandy  Hook  we  will  eat  our  luncheon. 

The     remainder    of    the    eighteen    miles    which 


Yacht  Excursion  to  Sandy  I  look.  49 

Pleasant  discussions.  An  enjoyable  lunch. 

stretches  between  New  York  and  Sandy  Hook  was 
soon  run  by  the  little  yacht.  She  steamed  quickly 
through  Gravesend  Bay  and  past  Coney  Island, 
while  our  party  chatted  gayly,  chiefly  about  the 
effect  produced  on  the  mind  of  old  Hendrick  Hud- 
son when  he  anchored  his  little  craft,  the  Half 
Moon,  inside  Sandy  Hook,  more  than  two  hundred 
and  sixty  years  ago.  They  wondered  what  the 
daring  old  warrior  thought  of  the  spacious  Raritan 
Bay,  of  the  beautiful  Narrows,  of  the  inner  bay,  of 
the  surrounding  shores  then  indented  by  creeks  and 
crowned  with  virgin  forests,  and  of  the  cinnamon- 
colored  natives  who  came  in  their  canoes  to  gaze 
on  his  "moving  house,"  wondering  whether  he  was 
a  man  like  themselves,  or  whether  he  was  a  god  like 
the  Manitou  whom  they  worshiped. 

These  pleasant  discussions  were  cut  short  by  their 
arrival  at  Sandy  Hook,  and  the  welcome  announce- 
ment of  the  steward,  "  Luncheon  is  ready  !  " 

Their  sail  of  thirty  miles,  and  their  hour's  ram- 
ble on  Washington  Heights,  had  given  them  "  real 
sailors'  appetites,"  as  Miss  Jennie  expressed  it. 
With  hunger  as  sauce  they  enjoyed  their  bountiful 
lunch,  and  then  went  ashore  and  rambled  to  the 
light-house  and  to  the  powerful  fort,  in  process  of 
construction,  at  a  point  which  commands  the  ship 
channel.      They   gazed    with    awe    on    the    restless 


50 


Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson 


Ad  ocean  view. 


Friendly  lights. 


waters  of  the  vast  Atlantic.  They  admired  the 
bright  surface  of  Raritan  Bay,  with  its  rippling 
waves  shimmering  in  the  sunshine,  and  commented 


BANDY   hook    FBOM   Tin:    ik. mi    DOUM 


on  the  gladness  with  which  the  anxious  sailor  hails 
the  friendly  lights  which  send  out  their  bright 
beams  from  the  Highlands  ofNavesink,  which  were 
visible  at  the  other  end  of  the  cape,  five  miles  dis- 


Yacht  Excursion  to  Sandy  Hook.  51 

How  Sendrick  Hudson's  mistake  was  corrected. 

tant.  Then,  after  gathering  a  few  sprigs  of  seaweed 
as  mementos  of  their  visit  to  this  barren,  storm- 
beaten  strip  of  land,  they  returned  to  their  pretty 
little  yacht. 

As  they  steamed  past  Coney  Island  and  the  Long 
Island  shore  their  conversation  was  again  turned  to 
old  Hendrick  Hudson,  and  his  great  mistake  in 
supposing,  as  he  did  at  first,  that  he  had  found  the 
route  to  India  and  China  when  he  entered  Raritan 
Bay. 

"  He  did  not  find  out  his  mistake,"  said  the 
colonel,  "  until  he  had  sailed  one  hundred  miles  .up 
the  Hudson,  when  the  narrowing  of  the  stream,  the 
freshness  of  the  water,  and  the  increasing  swiftness 
of  the  downward  current,  convinced  him  that  the 
land  of  the  Orient  could  never  be  reached  by  sailing 
in  that  direction.  Then,  after  long  deliberation  and 
sending  a  boat  up  the  river  to  make  further  obser- 
vations, he  warped  the  Half  Moon  from  the  bank 
on  which  she  had  grounded,  and  put  her  about  with 
great  difficulty,  she  being,  as  the  venerable  Knicker- 
bocker wrote,  '  like  most  of  her  sex,  exceeding  hard 
to  govern,'  and  the  adventurous  Hudson  returned 
down  the  river  with  a  prodigious  'flea  in  his  ear!'  " 
The  colonel  smiled  somewhat  roguishly  at  the 
young  ladies  as  he  quoted  these  ungallant  words 
from  the  outspoken  Diedrich  Knickerbocker's  veri- 


52  Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 

Jennie's  opinion  of  Diedrich  Knickerbocker. 

table  history.  Edith  quietly  laughed  at  them,  as  at 
a  streak  of  pleasant  humor;  but  Jennie  bristled  up, 
and  with  a  frowning  brow  and  sharp  tone  said, 

"  Uncle,  I  think  that  old  fellow,  whom  you  call 
the  venerable  Knickerbocker,  was  no  gentleman  ; 
nothing  but  a  surly,  fussy  old  bachelor." 

This  spirited  blow  at  the  reputation  of  New  York's 
most  famous  historian  caused  a  general  laugh,  which 
somewhat  discomposed  Miss  Jennie,  because  she 
felt  uncertain  whether  it  was  directed  at  her  or  at 
the  historian.  Arthur  came  to  her  relief  by  asking 
the  colonel, — 

"Why  was  the  river  and  the  island  of  New  York 
first  named  Manhattan,  sir?" 

"That  is  variously  accounted  for  by  old  Diedrich, 
Arthur,"  replied  the  colonel.  "  He  tells  us  that  a 
waggish  governor,  inspired  by  some  Philadelphia 
wits,  traced  it  to  a  custom  among  the  squaws  of 
wearing  men's  hats.  Hence  came  the  appellation 
of  Man-hat-on,  first  given  to  the  Indians,  and  after- 
ward to  the  river  and  island.  This,  however,  the 
historian  pronounces  a  stupid  joke,  but  well  enough 
for  a  governor,  lie  then  gives  a  tradition  which 
traces  the  name  to  Manetho,  the  good  spirit  of 
the  Indians,  who  once  made  the  island  his  abode 
because  of  its  uncommon  delights.  Finally,  he- 
adopted  the  opinion  that  it  was  originally  written 


Yacht  Excursion  to  Sandy  Hook. 


53 


From  the  Narrows  to  the  Navy  Yard. 


Manna-Hatta— that  is  to  say,  the  Island  of  Manna, 
or,  in  other  words,  a  land  flowing  with  milk  and 
honey! " 

Thus,  by  pleasant  conversation  on  the  early  his- 
tory of  the  river,  interspersed  with  comments  on 
the  many  beautiful  objects  on  land  and  water  which 
met  their  eyes,  our  party  beguiled  the  time  while 
their   yacht    bore    them,    with    bird-like    swiftness, 


NAVY    YARD,    BROOKLYN. 

through  the    Narrows,  round  past  Bay  Ridge  and 

Brooklyn,  up  the   East  River  as  far  as  the   Navy 

Yard.      Then,    steaming    round,    she    glided    safely 

through    the    numerous    craft   which   were    moving 
5* 


54  Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 

A  glance  at  Manhattanville.  At  Englewood  again. 

about  the  river,  rounded  the  Battery,  and  ascended 
the  Hudson,  keeping  close  to  its  eastern  shore. 

This  gave  them  many  glimpses  of  the  city  and 
its  most  lofty  edifices,  and  carried  them  near  to 
Manhattanville,*  of  which  the  colonel  said,  "  It  is  a 
very  pretty  suburban  village.  We  must  visit  it 
some  time,  if  opportunity  offers." 

It  was  nearly  sunset  when  our  excursionists 
reached  the  dock  at  Englewood.  There  they  were 
delighted  to  find  a  carriage  waiting  to  convey  them 
up  the  Palisades  to  their  hotel.  As  they  seated 
themselves  upon  its  easy  cushions,  Jennie  remarked, 

"This  is  nice.  I  don't  think  we  could  ever  have 
climbed  up  the  foot-path  this  afternoon." 

"  Why,  Jennie,"  responded  the  colonel,  "  I  thought 
you  greatly  admired  that  rustic  walk." 

Jennie  pouted  her  lips,  but  said  nothing.  Her 
mother  replied,  "  No  doubt  the  path  is  romantic 
and  charming  enough  when  people  are  fresh,  but 
weariness  takes  the  romance  out  of  every  thing  one 
sees. 

To  this  the  colonel  assented  by  a  silent  nod.  Lit- 
tle was  said  during  the  ride  up  the  steep  hill;  but 
after  dinner  had  refreshed  them,  they  renewed  the 
pleasures  of  the  day  by  recalling  what  they  had  seen, 
and  by  planning  for  further  excursions  on  the  river. 

*  Sec  Frontispiece. 


From  the  Mountain  House  to  Tarrytown.       55 

New  ideas  about  travel.  Edith's  enthusiasm. 


CHAPTER    III. 

FROM   THE   MOUNTAIN   HOUSE   TO   TARRYTOWN. 

MHEIR  excursion  down  the  river  had  given 
{?£).  birth  to  new  ideas  and  feelings  in  the  youthful 
members  of  our  vacation  party.  It  had  given- them 
a  slight  perception  of  the  secret,  the  full  possession 
of  which  makes  all  travel,  whether  local  or  distant, 
home  or  foreign,  a  source  of  both  improvement  and 
pleasure — namely,  close  observation  of  natural  and 
artificial  objects,  and  inquiry  into  the  associations, 
historical  and  traditional,  connected  with  the  locali- 
ties visited.  Speaking  to  her  sister  and  cousins  the 
next  morning,  Edith  said, — 

"  Our  trip  yesterday  added  to  my  little  stock  of 
information ;  it  has  made  the  creek  yonder  and 
Washington  Heights  look  like  new  places  to  me. 
That  legend  of  the  bold  trumpeter  has  given  yonder 
drowsy  waters  an  air  of  romance,  while  the  story  of 
the  storming  of  the  fort  below  has  covered  the 
heights  with  a  halo  of  patriotic  glory." 

The  bright  glow  of  real  enthusiasm  which  lighted 
up  Edith's  pretty  face  as  she  made  these  remarks 
seemed  to  communicate  itself  to  her  companions, 


56  Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 

Jennie's  request.  A  toad. 

especially  to  Arthur.  Even  Jennie,  who  was  thought 
to  prefer  flirting  with  her  cousins  and  other  lively 
young  gentlemen  to  acquiring  solid  information, 
g  caught  the  inspiration,  and  declared  that  "  those 
legends  about  the  Indians  were  really  delightful ; " 
then  turning  to  Arthur,  she  added,  "  Can't  you  tell  us 
another,  coz,  to  pass  away  the  time  this  morning?" 

Just  then  a  big  toad  happened  to  hop  from  be- 
neath the  piazza,  and,  sitting  in  the  shadow  of  its 
lower  step,  fixed  his  jeweled  eyes  as  if  watching  the 
coming  of  some  fat,  vagrant  fly,  which  he  might 
devour  for  his  breakfast.  Arthur  pointed  to  the 
.  unshapely  creature  and  replied, 

"  There  is  a  frog — a  toad  rather.  The  Indians 
called  the  frog  okogis.  Now,  as  I  don't  happen  to 
think  of  a  legend  just  at  this  moment,  I  will  recite 
the  '  Song  of  Okogis  in  the  Spring,'  if  that  will  suit 
you,  Miss  Jennie." 

"  O  yes.  Frog  or  Indian  is  all  one  to  me,  pro- 
vided you  say  something  interesting." 

"  Not  very  complimentary  to  the  Indian — but 
never  mind.  The  poor  fellow  has  disappeared  from 
these  shores,  and  we  tread  upon  his  dust." 

"  Sakes  alive!  as  poor  old  Aunt  Mehetabel  used 
to  say,  you  don't  mean  to  tell  us  that  we  arc  on  an 
Indian  burying-ground,  Mr.  Arthur?" 

"Not  literally,  perhaps,  Miss  Jennie.      Hie  earth 


From  the  Mountain  House  to  Tarrytown.       57 

Okogis  tho  frog.  Another  excursion  proposed. 

is  too  shallow  just  round  here  for  a  burial-ground 
though,  I  have  no  doubt,  this  hill-side  holds  the 
dust  of  many  a  brave  who  once  hunted  game  along 
these  Palisades — but  let  me  tell  you  what  Okogis, 
the  Frog,  said  to  Indian  ears  in  the  spring  time  of 
the  long  ago  : — ■ 

"  See  how  the  white  spirit  presses  us, — 
Presses  us,  presses  us,  heavy  and  long ; 
Presses  us  down  to  the  frost-bitten  earth. 
Alas  !  you  are  heavy,  ye  spirits  so  white  ; 
Alas  !  you  are  cold — you  are  cold — you  are  cold. 
Ah  !  cease,  shining  spirits,  that  fell  from  the  skies, 
Ah  !  cease  to  crush  us,  and  keep  us  in  tread  ; 
Ah  !  when  will  ye  vanish  andr  Seogwun  [Spring]  return." 

"  Not  a  bad  conception  that  for  an  Indian  poet," 
observed  the  colonel,  who  had  come  out  on  to  the 
piazza  just  as  Arthur  commenced  his  recitation. 
"  But,"  he  added  smiling,  "you  must  leave  the  frog 
to  utter  his  lamentations  and  get  ready  for  an  ex- 
cursion to  Sunnyside  and  Tarrytown." 

This  announcement  caused  them  to  spring  from 
their  chairs  with  eager  haste  and  cluster  round  the 
colonel,  seeking  an  explanation. 

His  arrangement  was  novel,  but  acceptable.    They 

vere  to  go  up  to  Tarrytown  in  a  large   sail-boat. 

Their  baggage  would  be  forwarded  by  railway  to 

Nyack,  and  thence  by  boat  across  the  river  to  their 

lodgings.    They  were  to  be  ready  as  soon  as  possible. 
3* 


58  Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 

Sailing  on  the  Hudson.  Yonkors. 

As  their  departure  was  not  wholly  unexpected, 
they  were  not  long  in  packing  their  trunks.  A  car- 
riage bore  them  from  the  Mountain  House  to  the 
river,  where  a  stout  sail-boat,  manned  by  two  men 
with  hard  hands  and  bronzed  faces,  awaited  them. 

A  fine  southerly  breeze  wafted  them  up  the  noble 
stream  with  all  desirable  speed,  giving  them  a  fine 
view  of  the  Palisades  in  their  grandest  and  wildest 
aspect,  and  bringing  them,  in  due  time,  opposite 
the  beautiful  city  .  of  Yonkers,  four  miles  from 
Spuyten  Duyvel  Creek. 

"  Yonkers  !  "  exclaimed  Jennie,  "  what  a  homely 
name  for  such  a  pretty  place." 

"  Its  meaning  is  prettier  than  its  sound,  which  is 
not  altogether  euphonious,  I  confess,  j  We  got  it 
from  the  Dutch,  who  called  it  Yonkheer,  which 
signifies  the  son  of  the  master  or  lord,  that  is,  the 
family  heir.  It  was  originally  called  Donck's  Col- 
ony, after  Adrian  Van  dcr  Donck,  who  purchased 
its  site  from  the  Indians." 

"  What  did  the  Indians  call  it,  uncle?"  asked 
Edith. 

"  They,  with  more  poetical  feeling  than  the  lusty 
Dutchmen,  called  it  Nap-pc-clia-mak\  or  the  rapid- 
river  town,  because  of  the  merry  stream  which  there 
comes  tumbling  and  dancing  down  from  the  green 
hills    toward    its   resting   place,   the    Hudson.     This 


From  the  Mountain  House  to  Tarrytown.       59 


Utilitarian  vandals. 


A  rustic  patriot. 


expressive  name  was  changed  to  Neperah  by  the 
early  colonists,  and  afterward  to  Saw-mill  River. 

"  0,  the  utilitarian  vandals!"  exclaimed  Mrs. 
Stuart  with  an  earnestness  which  made  them  all 
laugh,  approvingly  of  course. 

"  Was  not  Isaac  Van  Wart,  one  of  the  captors  of 
Andre,  buried  at  Yonkers,  sir?"  asked  Clarence. 

"  Not  exactly  in  Yonkers,  my  son,  but  near  it,  in 
the  burial-ground  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  of 
Greenburgh,  that  rustic 
patriot  sleeps  the  sleep  of 
the  just.  A  marble  mon- 
ument marks  the  spot, 
and  records  his  fidelity 
to  his  trust.  His  mem- 
ory is  worthy  of  preserva- 
tion, for  had  he  and  his 
equally  noble   comrades, 

Paulding  and  Williams,  been  dull  of  brain  or  cor- 
rupt in  heart,  our  Revolution  might  have  had  a 
termination  fatal  to  American  freedom." 

"  There  were  many  heroes  in  those  days,"  re- 
marked Arthur. 

"  That's  so,"  replied  Clarence,  "  but  if  I  do  not 
misread  history  there  were  a  great  many  sham  pa- 
triots also." 


ART'S   MONUMENT. 


60  Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 

A  celebrated  royalist  beauty. 

The  colonel  smiled  and  said,  "  No  doubt,  no 
doubt.  Self-seeking  men  are  found  every-where 
and  in  all  ages,  wearing  the  masks  most  likely  to 
help  them  gain  their  ends. 

Mrs.  Stuart  now  recalled  attention  to  Yonkers, 
speaking  very  highly  of  the  beauty  of  its  situation, 
of  its  many  charming  villas,  and  its  delightful  drives. 

"  There  is  a  little  romance  connected  with  Yon- 
kers which  may  please  you  young  folks,"  observed 
the  colonel,  looking  archly  at  his  nieces.  "That 
celebrated  royalist  beauty,  Mary  Phillipse,  the  heir- 
ess of  the  great  Phillipse  Manor,  was  born  here.  In 
her  youth  she  won  the  heart  of  George  Washington  ; 
but  young  Colonel  Morris,  his  companion  in  arms 
during  the  French  and  Indian  wars,  won  her  affec- 
tions, and  she  became  Mrs.  Morris.  Her  husband 
was  a  stanch  royalist  in  the  Revolution.  She  clung 
to  the  same  side,  and  being  condemned  for  high 
treason,  lost  the  whole  of  the  great  Phillipse  estate, 
which  was  confiscated  by  the  State." 

"Wasn't  it  lucky  Washington  didn't  many  her!" 
exclaimed  Jennie. 

"  Why?"  asked  the  colonel. 

"  Because  in  that  ease  he  would  have  been  a 
rebel  instead  of  a  patriot,"  retorted  Jennie  with 
earnestness. 

The  colonel  laughed  heartily  at  the  confidence  in 


From  the  Mountain  House  to  Tarrytown.      61 

A  naval  skirmish.  Attempt  to  capture  Washington. 

a  woman's  influence  over  her  husband  which  his 
niece's  answer  implied.  The  girl  blushed  under 
his  laugh,  but  listened  respectfully  when  he  gave  it 
as  his  opinion  that  if  Mary  Phillipse  had  become 
Mary  Washington  she  would,  in  all  probability,  have 
caught  the  spirit  of  patriotism  from  her  husband, 
and  been  as  true  to  her  country  as  was  Martha 
Washington. 

As  they  passed  Yonkers  the  colonel  told  them 
that  a  naval  skirmish  between  two  English  frigates 
and  some  American  gun-boats  was  fought  there- 
abouts, and  the  latter,  getting  worsted,  fled  up  the 
Nepcrah  for  shelter. 

Three  miles  above  Yonkers  they  passed  the  vil- 
lage of  Hastings,  which  derives  much  of  its'  pros- 
perity from  the  marble  quarries  in  its  vicinity.  A 
mile  or  two  beyond  they  came  to"  Dobb's  Ferry, 
concerning  which  the  colonel  said, 

"  It  was  from  near  this  place  that  six  thousand 
British  troops  crossed  the  river,  shortly  after  the 
capture  of  Fort  Washington,  for  the  purpose  of  cap- 
turing General  Washington  and  the  troops  which 
were  still  at  Fort  Lee.  This  movement  was  kept  as 
secret  as  possible.  The  troops  were  to  march  across 
the  country  from  Sneedan's  Landing,  and  having 
secured  possession  of  the  only  bridge  which  crossed 
the  Hackensack,  to  move  upon  Fort  Lee.     Had  the 


62 


Simmer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 


A  narrow  escape. 


detachment  sent  to  occupy  the  bridge  secured  it 
promptly,  Washington  and  his  men  must  have  been 
captured,  because  they  were  too  few  to  cope  with 
such  a  force,  and  they  had  no  means  of  crossing  the 


river  below  the  bridge.  Providentially,  Washington 
heard  of  this  movement  in  season  to  escape.  Leav- 
ing" tents,  euns,  and  ammunition  behind,  he  marched 
rapidly  for  the  bridge.  The  enemy  had  the  advan- 
tage of  an  earlier  start  and  a  shorter  line;  but,  for 
iv »  imaginable  reason,  they  halted  at  what  is.  now 
Tenafly  long  enough  to  permit  Washington  to  reach, 
,    and    destroy    the    bridge.      Thus   he    and    his 


frrom  the  Mountain  House  to  Tarrytoivn.       63 

Irving  Park.  A  charming  view. 

troops  were  saved  from  capture,  but  it  was  one  of 
the  narrowest  of  escapes — one  of  the  many  marks  of 
the  care  of  that  superintending  Providence  which 
characterized  our  Revolution." 

This  interesting  incident  led  to  a  long  conversa- 
tion about  the  old  Revolutionary  war,  during  which 
our  voyagers  passed  Irvington,  near  which  is  Sunny- 
side,  once  the  home  of  that  universally  admired 
writer,  Washington  Irving.  Toward  the  middle  of 
the  afternoon  they  arrived  at  Tarrytown,  where 
they  landed,  and  were  cordially  welcomed  by  an  old 
friend  of  the  colonel,  who  occupied  one  of  the  most 
sightly  villas  in  "  Irving  Park." 

"  How  delightful  this  view  is ! "  exclaimed  Mrs. 
Stuart,  when  the  party,  after  partaking  of  refresh- 
ments, had  gathered,  under  the  guidance  of  their 
host  and  hostess,  on  the  piazza  of  the  mansion. 

There  was  no  exaggeration  in  this  exclamation. 
The  view  was  exceedingly  beautiful.  It  included 
a  highly  cultivated  park,  in  which  the  villa  stood, 
enlivened  by  glimpses  of  the  fantastic  Pocanteco, 
which  rushed,  and  sparkled,  and  leaped  from  down 
the  hill-side.  Near  by  was  the  village  of  Tarrytown. 
At  their  feet  was  the  noble  Hudson,  stretching  up- 
ward for  miles,  until  it  seemed  to  lose  itself  in  the 
Highlands.  Scores  of  vessels  were  lazily  creeping 
upon  its  unrippled  surface.     Beyond  were  the  lofty 


64  Summer  Days  ox  the  Hudson. 

A  spirited  dispute. 

Palisades,  sloping  down  to  the  villages  of  Piermont 
and  Rockland.  The  younger  members  of  our  party 
fell  into  a  spirited  dispute  respecting  the  compara- 


IH8TAN1    v  u  u     \  i     i  \i:i:vro\\N 


tive  beauty  and  grandeur  of  this  view  and  that  seen 
from  the  Mountain  House. 

"This  view,"  said  Edith,  "excels  in  beaut}*;  that 
at  Englewood  is  grander  and  more  varied." 

Jennie    insisted    that    the    Mountain    House    view 


From  the  Mountain  House  to  Tarrytozvn.       65 

Romantic  hopes. 

was  perfect,  saying,  with  one  of  her  prettiest  and 
most  positive  airs,  "  I  don't  believe  there  is  any 
tiling  like  it  anywhere  on  the  Hudson." 

Her  mother  and  uncle  smiled  at  her  warmth. 
They  did  not  know  then  that  some  little  romantic 
hopes  had  been  excited  and  some  peculiarly  interest- 
ing words  had  been  spoken  there  to  her  by  Arthur. 
This  had  no  doubt  tinged  every  thing  connected 
with  its  scenery  with  an  atmosphere  of  romance.  It 
was,  to  be  sure,  little  else  than  childish  sentiment, 
but  it  had,  nevertheless,  glorified  the  place  in  her 

girlish  imagination. 
6* 


66  Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 


Edith  on  the  banks  of  the  Pocanteco. 


CHAPTER   IV. 
SUNNYSIDE. 

^Tk^ ARLY  the  next  morning  Miss  Edith  arose 
<crfe^  while  her  sister  was  vet  sleeping,  and,  taking 
a  volume  of  Irving's  works  which  she  found  on  the 
table  in  her  chamber,  went  out  into  the  park  to 
read  once  more  the  legend  of  Sleepy  Hollow.  Seek- 
ing the  bank  of  the  Pocanteco,  which,  as  she  knew, 
flowed  through  the  scene  of  Ichabod  Crane's  mid- 
night fright,  she  found  a  bridge  spanning  the 
stream  at  a  point  where  it  rushed  with  headlong 
speed  over  the  rocks,,  and  where  the  seclusion  al- 
most made  her  forget  that  she  was  near  the  busy 
haunts  of  men. 

I  [ere  she  was  found  an  hour  later  by  her  cousins, 
who  had  been  sent  out  to  find  her.  Clarence  ran 
up  first  and  said, 

"Ah!  here  you  are,  Miss  Edith,  We  have  been 
almost  distracted  on  your  account,  fearing  Lest  you 
had  been  transformed  by  Undine  into  a  Naiad,  and 
carried  down  to  her  royal  grotto  at  the  bottom  of 
our  beautiful  1  ludson." 

"Or  carried  off  by  the  headless  horseman  whose 


Sunnyside. 


*7 


Pleasant  banter. 


terrors  once  drove  poor  Ichabod  Crane  almost  out 
of  his  wits  as  he  was  returning  from  a  visit  to  his 
scornful    ladv-love,"    added    Arthur   with    a    merry 


VIEW    ON   THE    ron.VNTECO    ]'i:o.\l    IRVING    PARK 


laugh,  that  was  certainly  not  in  harmony  with  the 
ghostly  fears  which  his  words  expressed. 

The  demure,  simple-hearted  Edith  looked  won- 
deringly  at  .her  cousins  as  she  quietly  replied, 

"  I  see  no  occasion  for  alarm  ;  I  only  came  here 


68  Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 

Kind  words  rewarded.  On  the  way  to  Sunnyside. 

to  read  about  Ichabod  Crane,  because  I  thought  it 
would  be  nice  to  read  about  him  near  the  valley 
which  was  the  scene  of  his  fright  and  flight.'' 

"  O,  yes  ;  very  nice,  no  doubt,  but  not  so  very 
nice  for  us  who  have  been  kept  waiting  half  an 
hour  or  more  for  our  breakfast,"  rejoined  Arthur. 

"  Don't  stretch  the  truth,"  retorted  Clarence. 
"We  haven't  waited  ten  minutes,  and  I  was  only 
funning  when  I  said  we  were  distracted  about  you, 
Miss  Edith." 

The  young  lady  looked  her  gratitude  to  Clarence 
for  his  kind  words,  and,  by  way  of  rewarding  him 
for  his  knightly  interest  in  her  behalf,  took  his  prof- 
fered arm,  and  walked  with  him  to  the  villa,  where 
she  was  cordially  greeted  and  highly  complimented 
for  the  bloom  with  which  the  fresh  morning  air  had 
adorned  her  cheek. 

After  breakfast  carriages  were  driven  to  the  door 
to  convey  them  to  Sunnyside,  nearly  three  miles 
below,  for  the  purpose  of  visiting  the  home  of  Irving, 
whose  graceful  pen  has  made  this  part  of  the  Hud- 
son classic  ground. 

On  their  way  they  paused  awhile  to  view  Pauld- 
ing Manor,  a  marble  mansion  which  had  attracted 
their  notice,  as  11  does  that  of  every  traveler  on  the 
Hudson  during  their  sail   up  the  river.     They  all 

admired  it.      The  colonel  called  it  "the  finest  Sped- 


Sunny  side. 


69 


A  splendid  mansion. 


men  of  the  Pointed  Tudor  style  in  America."  Mrs. 
Stuart  went  into  a  sort  of  esthetic  rapture  over  "  its 
picturesque  outline,  made  up  of  tower  and  turret, 
gables  and  pinnacles."     Jennie  was  chiefly  pleased 


m 


PAULDING   MANOR. 


with  "  the  elegant  decoration  of  its  ceilings,"  and 
with  the  spacious  drawing-room,  which  she  said 
"  was  a  splendid  room  for  a  large  party."  Arthur 
was  fascinated  by  its  noble  library,  and  Clarence 
found  especial  pleasure  in  examining  the  mull- 
ions  and  tracery  which  adorn  its  windows.  All  of 
them  agreed  that  they  were  fortunate  in  having  a 
friend  such  as  their  host,  whose  intimate  acquaint- 
ance with  its  owner  could  procure  them  admission 


jo  Summer  Days  gx  the  Hudson. 

At  Sunnyside.  Jennie  and  Arthur  disappear. 

into  a  residence  which  was  such  an  unusually  splen- 
did specimen  of  architectural  elegance. 

Resuming  their  seats  in  their  carriages,  our  party 
was  driven,  through  scenery  which  was  a  constant 
charm,  to  Sunnyside,  the  home  of  the  late  Washing- 
ton Irving.  Leaving  their  carriages  at  the  gate,  at 
the  end  of  a  romantic  lane,  they  walked  into  the 
grounds.  They  had  advanced  but  a  few  steps  when 
Mrs.  Stuart  exclaimed  in  very  enthusiastic  tones, — 

"And  that  is  Sunnyside  !  ,How  beautiful !  That 
porch  is  elegant,  and  that  ivy,  half  hiding  the  end 
of  the  house,  is  absolutely  charming !  I  don't  won- 
der Irving  loved  this  delightful  home." 

Jennie  somewhat  shocked  her  mamma  by  remark- 
ing, "What  a  splendid  croquet-ground  this  lawn 
would  make  ! " 

"Fy,  fy,  Jennie!"  replied  Mrs.  Stuart.  "I  am 
ashamed  of  you  for  being  unable  to  see  any  thing 
higher  and  better  than  a  croquet-ground  in  this 
lovely  spot." 

But  the  vivacious  miss  did  not  heed  her  mother's 
rebuke.  Before  it  was  fairly  uttered  she  was  run- 
ning toward  a  green  archway,  formed  by  the  tops 
of  two  trees,  through  which  the  water  of  the  Hud- 
son was  visible,  like-  a  picture  framed  with  leaves. 

Arthur  was  seen  to  follow  her  with  zealous  speed. 
After  the  rest  of  the   party  had  sauntered   round 


Sunnyside. 


The  spring  at  Wolferfs  lloost 


the  lawn  and  along  the  path  fronting  on  the  river, 
which  was  Irving's  favorite  walk,  Clarence  asked 
the  colonel  if  there  was  not  a  spring  on  the  place 


concerning  which  there  is  a  curious  legend  related 
in  one  of  Irving's  fascinating  stories.  To  which  the 
colonel  replied  : — 

"Yes;  it  is  mentioned  in  *  Wolfert's  Roost/  where 
it  is  veractously  stated  that  Femmetie  Van  Blarcom, 


72  Summer  Days  ox  the  Hudsox. 

Legend  of  Femmetie  Van  Blarcom. 

wife  of  Goosen  Garret  Van  Blarcom,  being  about  to 
leave  their  farm  near  Rotterdam  to  settle  with  her 
liege  lord  on  the  banks  of  our  noble  river,  was 
anxious  to  carry  a  certain  spring  with  them  to  their 
new  home.  She  was  confident  they  would  find  no 
such  water  here.  So  with  womanly  ingenuity  she 
one  night  stole  secretly  forth  in  the  darkness,  and 
putting  the  aforesaid  spring  in  her  churn,  brought 
it  with  her  household  gods  to  America." 

They  all  laughed  heartily  at  the  ludicrous  idea  of 
bringing  a  spring  across  the  Atlantic  in  a  churn  ! 
Nevertheless,  they  followed  their  Tarrytown  host 
to  the  foot  of  the  glen,  lying  south  of  the  mansion, 
near  the  river  bank,  where  they  found  the  spring 
to  which  tradition  attached  this  history,  and  there 
they  drank  of  its  waters  to  the  memory  of  the  in- 
genious Femmetie  Van  Blarcom. 

From  the  spring  they  strolled  up  the  banks  of 
the  brook,  which  poured  its  crystal  waters  in  min- 
iature cascades  through  one  of  the  most  romantic 
of  sylvan  scenes,  which  Mrs.  Stuart  declared  was 
"just  the  sort  of  a  place  for  a  literary  magician, 
like  Irving,  to  conjure  up  all  sorts  of  legendary 
creatioi 

"And  to  hold  converse  with  all  sorts  of  hobgob- 
lins, satyrs,  dryads,  and  other  weird  creatures," 
added  Edith. 


Sunny  side. 


73 


A  charming  brook. 


^Hifc 


THE    BROOK    AT   SVNXYSIDF.. 


Their  guide  informed  them  that  this  charming 
dell  was  a  favorite  retreat  of  its  late  lamented  owner, 
as  also  was  a  beautiful  little  lakelet,  which  he  was 


74  Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 


The  hollow  that  once  held  a.  fairy  sea. 


wont  in  his  playful  moods  to  call  his  "  Mediterranean 
Sea,"  to  which  he  now  proposed  to  lead  them. 

A  short  walk  along  the  bank  of  the  brook  and 
along  a  deliriously  shaded  path  brought  them  to  a 
spot  of  which  Edith  was  pleased  to  say  that  it  must 
once  have  been  a  "  fairy  sea."  It  was  a  hollow, 
shaped  liked  a  palm-leaf,  and  when  filled  with  the 
water  of  the  brook,  which  was  formerly  dammed  up 
at  the  outlet,  where  it  escaped  in  the  form  of  a  spark- 
ling cascade,  must  have  been  as  charming  as  in  our 
engraving.  Then  its  shores  were  well  wooded,  a 
flock  of  ducks  sported  on  its  still  surface,  as  did  also 
the  sunbeams  which  forced  their  way  through  the 
overarching  foliage.  But  now,  alas  !  its  beauty  had 
mostly  disappeared.  The  dam  was  gone,  the  hollow 
was  partly  filled  up,  and  it  required  a  vivid  imagina- 
tion to  see  it  as  it  was  when  drawn  by  the  artist. 

"A  lovelier  spot  can  scarcely  be  imagined,"  ob- 
served Mrs.  Stuart,  after  they  had  strolled  awhile 
around  the  miniature  grounds  and  taken  a  second 
ramble  on  the  path  which  skirts  the  margin  of  the 
lawn  above  the  sloping  bank  of  the  river. 

"Just  the  spot  for  such  a  dream-life  as  Irving 
loved  to  describe,"  replied  the  colonel  as  he  led  the 
way  toward  the  dwelling  in  which  our  great  magi- 
cian of  the  Hudson  spent  the  latter  days  of  his 
pleasant  life. 


Sunny  side. 


75 


An  inside  view  <>t'  Sunnvside. 


TUE    POND,    Oil    MEDITERRANEAN    SEA,    AS    IT    WAS    FORMERLY 

Their  host  procured  them  admission  to  Irving's 
Study,  which  they  found  to  be  a  pleasant  room  of 
moderate  size,  from  one  window  of  which  there  was 


76  Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 

Lowell's  pen-portrait  of  Irving'. 

a  fine  view  of  the  river.  From  the  other  could  be 
seen  the  lawn  and  the  carriage  road  leading  to  the 
house.  They  also  entered  the  little  parlor  and  the 
comfortable-looking  dining-room. 

"  A  delightful  retreat,  a  modest,  gracefully-fur- 
nished workshop  for  a  literary  artist,"  observed  the 
colonel.  "  Sunnyside  is  just  such  a  home  as  one 
would  expect  a  genial,  poetic  soul,  such  as  Irving, 
would  create  for  himself.  He  was,  indeed,  a  rare 
creation  himself.  I  cannot  help  thinking  at  this 
moment  of  Lowell's  humorous  description  of  his 
character.     He  says  of  him: — 

"  But  allow  me  to  speak  what  I  humbly  feel, — 
To  a  true  poet  heart  acid  the  fun  of  Dick  Steele  ; 
Throw  in  all  of  Addison  minus  the  chill, 
With  the  whole  of  that  partnership's  stock  and  good  will. 
Mix  well,  and  while  stirring,  hum  o'er  as  a  spell, 
The  fine  old  English  Gentleman  ;  simmer  it  well ; 
Sweeten  just  to  your  own  private  liking,  then  strain, 
That  only  the  finest  and  purest  remain  ; 
Let  it  stand  out  of  doors  till  a  soul  it  receives 
From  the  warm,  lazy  sun,  loit'ring  down  through  the  leaves  ; 
And  you'll  find  a  choice  nature,  not  wholly  deserving 
A  name  either  English  or  Yankee — just  Irving." 

"That  is  a  quaint  quotation,"  observed  Mrs. 
Stuart,  smiling  at  the  alliteration.  "  Hut  1  wonder 
that  so  genial  and  affectionate  a  man  never  found  a 
partner  to  share  with  him  the  many  pleasant  things 

in  this  lovely  little  domain." 


Sunny  side. 


77 


Irving's  life-long  devotion  to  his  lady  love. 


"  It  is  singular,"  replied  the  colonel,  "  but  it  must 
be  charged  to  the  extreme  delicacy  of  his  feelings. 
He  did  woo  and  win   the  love  of  one  every  way 


[KVING'S    STUDY 


worthy  of  his  affections.  But  she  died  before  the 
bridal  day,  and  his  sensitive  heart  remained  so  wed- 
ded to  her  memory  that  it  never  looked  for  an- 
other to  fill  her  place." 

Their  attention  was  next  turned  to  the  legends 


78  Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 

Wolfert's  Roost  A  Dutch  patriot. 

and  stories  connected  with  the  spot  on  which  the 
Sunnyside  mansion  is  built.  It  was  once  occupied 
by  the  house  of  Wolfert  Acker,  one  of  Peter 
Stuyvesant's  privy  councilors,  and  a  man  of  whom 
Diedrich  Knickerbocker  ironically  says,  "  he  was 
kept  in  a  constant  fume  and  fret  by  the  perverse- 
ness  of  mankind..  Had  he  served  on  a  modern  jury, 
he  would  have  been  sure  to  have  eleven  unreason- 
able men  opposed  to  him.  His  house,"  says  the 
same  chronicler,  "  was  a  little,  old-fashioned  stone 
mansion,  all  made  up  of  gable  ends,  and  as  full  of 
angles  and  corners  as  an  old  cocked  hat."  "  He 
called  it  'Wolfert's  Rest;'  but  people"  who  did  not 
understand  Dutch  "called  it  'Wolfert's  Roost."' 

It  was  afterward  owned  by  Jacob  Van  Tassel, 
who  became  noted  for  his  patriotism  during  the 
Revolutionary  war.  He  owned  a  famous  goose  gun, 
armed  with  which  he  was  wont  to  hide  behind  the 
rocks  along  shore  and  shoot  the  British,  whose 
boats  sometimes  came  within  the  range  of  his  for- 
midable gun.  He  was  finally  captured  and  sent  to 
New  York.  His  house  was  burned  by  the  enemy, 
albeit  it  was  bravely  defended  by  his  "stout-heat  ted 
spouse,  his  redoubtable  sister,  Notchie  Van  Wur- 
mer,  and  Dinah,  a  strapping  negro  wench,  with 
mops,  broomsticks,  shovels,  tongs,  .  .  .  and,  above 
all,  with  that  most  potent  of  female  weapons,  the 


Sunnyside.  79 


Romantic  associations.  Searching  for  truants. 

tongue."  The  worthy  Jacob  rebuilt  it  after  the 
war,  but  in  size  and  style  more  in  harmony  with  his 
ruined  fortune  than  with  its  former  self. 

It  was  here,  too,  that  Katrina  Van  Tassel  had 
that  notable  quilting  frolic  from  which  her  unlucky 
suitor,  Ichabod  Crane,  was  followed  by  the  Head- 
less Horseman  of  Sleepy  Hollow.  In  fact,  the  air 
of  the  place  seemed  to  be  filled  with  the  spirit  of 
romance,  and  almost  every  object,  within  and  with- 
out the  mansion,  was  suggestive  either  of  times 
that  are  no  more,  or  of  the  uncanny  beings  with 
which  the  superstitions  of  our  honest  Dutch  fore- 
fathers peopled  brook  and  brake,  woodland  and 
river. 

So  absorbed  were  our  party  in  talking  of  these 
romantic  associations  that  they  did  not  notice  the 
absence  of  Arthur  and  Miss  Jennie  until  just  as  they 
were  preparing  to  leave.     Said  the  colonel, — ■ 

"  I  will  go  in  pursuit  of  the  truants  while  you 
walk  toward  the  carriages." 

He  did  not  have  far  to  go,  for  he  found  them  sit- 
ting near  the  river-side,  with  arms  entwined  very 
lovingly  round  each  other's  waist.  Their  unbecom- 
ing position  surprised  him,  and  in  a  somewhat  sharp 
and  angry  tone  he  said, — 

"Arthur,  what  do  you  mean?" 

The  young  couple   started  to   their  feet,  turned 


8o  Summer  Days  ox  the  Hudson. 

The  colonel's  anger.  Blushing  boy  and  girl. 

round,  and  stood  with  downcast  eyes  and  blushing 
cheeks,  not  knowing  what  to  reply.  After  looking 
sternly  at  them  for  a  moment  or  two,  the  colonel 
remarked, — 

"  Arthur,  I  am  ashamed  of  you  !  " 

This  remark  roused  the  lad  to  an  attempt  at  self- 
defense,  and  without  raising  his  eyes,  he  replied  in 
a  husky  voice, 

"  We  are  engaged,  sir." 

"  Engaged  to  do  what?"  the  colonel  angrily  de- 
manded. 

"  To  be  married,  sir." 

For  a  moment  the  colonel's  temper  prompted  him 
to  make  an  angry  response.  But  in  another  instant 
the  ridiculous  side  of  the  question  presented  itself 
to  his  mind.  The  idea  of  a  penniless  boy  of  sixteen 
engaging  to  marry  a  helpless  girl  of  like  age  rose 
before  him  in  all  its  absurdity,  and  he  broke  into  a 
fit  of  uncontrollable  laughter.  Then  thinking  that 
what  looked  so  incomparably  silly  to  him  might 
possibly  seem  more  serious  to  the  blushing  boy  and 
girl  before  him,  he  restrained  his  merriment.  Turn- 
ing to  Arthur  he  said  kindly,  but  decidedly, — 

"I  will  talk  to  you  about  this  matter  hereafter, 
my  boy.  Run  on  and  join  your  brother  at  the  en- 
trance gate.  Tell  them  that  Miss  Jennie  and  I  will 
be  there  directly." 


Sunny  side.  Si 


Jennie  in  a  bad  humor. 


Then  offering  his  arm  to  his  niece,  he  escorted 
her  across  the  lawn,  descanting,  as  they  walked, 
upon  the  beauties  of  Sunnyside.  But  poor  Jennie 
was  too  much  vexed  to  be  at  all  companionable. 
She  only  frowned,  pouted,  and  replied  in  mono- 
syllables to  his  questions ;  while  in  her  heart  she 
indulged  in  such  angry  thoughts  as  would  have 
astonished  her  uncle  had  they  been  coined  into 
spoken  words. 


82  Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 


Sleepy  Hollow. 


CHAPTER   V. 

FROM    SLEEPY   HOLLOW    TO    ROCKLAND   LAKE. 

tO WARD  evening  our  party,  refreshed  by  a 
bountiful  dinner  and  a  few  hours  of  repose  in 
the  villa  of  their  host,  sauntered  out  to  visit  the 
ancient  Dutch  Church,  the  oldest  in  the  State,  which 
stands  near  the  Sleepy  Hollow  of  Irving's  well- 
known  legend,  and  near  which  they  found  the 
modest  grave  of  Washington  Irving.  The  "  Hollow  " 
they  found  to  be  a  portion  of  the  Valley  of  the  Po- 
canteco.  They  stood  upon  the  rustic  bridge,  which 
spans  "  a  deep,  black  part  of  the  stream,  not  far 
from  the  church,"  and  recalled  Irving's  description, 
which  says,  "the  road  that  led  to  it,  and  the  bridge 
itself,  were  thickly  shaded  by  overhanging  trees, 
which  cast  a  gloom  about  it  even  in  the  day-time, 
and  occasioned  a  tearful  darkness  at  night."  While 
in  this  vicinity  they  recalled  the  main  points  of  the 
legend. 

They  drew  mental  pictures  of  the  tall,  ungainly 
pedagogue,  Ichabod  Crane,  who  had  come  from 
Connecticul  to  instruct  the  "tough,  wrong-headed, 
broad-skirted    Dutch   urchins,"  and  to  teach  singing 


From  Sleepy  Hollow  to  Rockland  Lake.  83 


.Mental  Pictures. 


Mmmm*- 


SLEEPY    HOLLOW    ISRIDGE. 


to  the  hard-fisted  young  men  and  to  the  stout, 
strong-armed,  blooming  maidens  of  Tarwe  Town. 
They    imagined    his    awkward    approaches    to    the 


84  Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 

Ichabod  and  the  mysterious  horseman. 

maiden,  Katrina  of  Wolfert's  Roost,  with  whom  it 
was  his  misfortune  to  fall  in  love,  and  the  resentful 
glances  of  his  more  favored  rival,  the  "  stalwart,  bony 
Brom  Van  Brunt,"  whose  vindictive  jealousy  moved 
him  to  a  ludicrous  scheme  for  driving  poor  Ichabod 
from  the  neighborhood  of  the  buxom  daughter  of 
Van  Tassel. 

In  an  unlucky  hour,  Ichabod  went  to  a  quilting 
party  at  Katrina's  home,  riding  thither  upon  a  horse 
characteristically  named  "  Gunpowder."  The  frolic 
being  over,  Ichabod  tarried  awhile  to  say  some  ten- 
der words  to  the  reluctant  maiden  ;  but  her  responses 
chilled  his  hopes,  and  caused  him  to  leave  her  side 
in  a  mood  which  was  far  from  being  a  merry  one. 
Then,  mounting  "Gunpowder,"  the  rebuffed  lover 
rode  gloomily  homeward.  But  when  he  was  within 
half  a  mile  of  the  bridge,  "a  horse  and  rider,  huge, 
black,  and  mysterious,  suddenly  appeared  at  In- 
side." Ichabod  looked  round,  and  to  his  horror 
discovered  that  the  rider  carried  his  head  in  his 
hand,  on  the  pommel  of  his  saddle.  The  mysteri- 
ous spectacle  terrified  him.  lie  put  "Gunpowder" 
upon  his  mettle,  and  rode  furiously  across  the  bridge", 
trusting  the  demon  would  not  dare  to  follow  him 
across  running  water.  But  it  did,  and  instead  of 
disappearing  in  a  cloud  of  fire  and  smoke,  rose  in 
the  stirrups  and   hurled   its  head   upon   the  luekless 


From  Sleepy  Hollow  to  Rockland  Lake.  85 

The  schoolmaster's  terror.  "Brom  Bones"  and  his  Katiina. 

Ichabod  !  Its  aim  was  unerring.  The  demon's  head 
fell,  with  a  terrible  crash,  on  the  schoolmaster's  skull, 
and,  slipping  from  the  saddle,  the  terror-stricken 
simpleton  fell  to  the  ground.  "  Gunpowder,"  freed 
from  his  rider,  galloped  to  his  stable,  and  the 
''goblin-rider  passed  like  a  whirlwind."  A  smashed 
pumpkin,  found  on  the  road  next  day,  might  have 
taught  those  thick-headed  Dutchmen  that  the  head- 
less rider  was  no  other  than  Ichabod's  rival,  the 
bold  "  Brom  Bones,"  as  Van  Brunt  was  nicknamed, 
and  that  shame  drove  the  luckless  schoolmaster 
back  to  Connecticut ;  but  they,  being  wise  in  demon- 
lore,  chose  to  believe  that  a  dead  Hessian,  whose 
head  had  been  carried  away  by  a  cannon-ball,  and 
who  was  wont  to  ride  through  the  Hollow  in  search 
of  it,  was  the  grim  goblin  which  had  spirited  the 
schoolmaster  away.  Brom  Van  Brunt,  however,  kept 
his  own  counsel,  and,  no  doubt,  chuckled  over  it 
with  more  vanity  than  grace,  when,  shortly  after, 
he  led  the  buxom  Katrina  to  the  marriage  altar. 

After  commenting  with  much  fun  on  this  old 
legend,  and  enjoying  the  pleasing  scenery  of  the 
Hollow,  our  party  walked  back  to  a  spot  near  the 
center  of  the  town,  on  which  the  unfortunate  Major 
Andre  was  arrested  by  three  honest  militia-men. 
A  marble  monument  marks  the  scene,  and  records 

the  fidelity  of  Paulding,  Van  Wart,  and  Williams. 
8 


86 


Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 


The  capture  of  Andre. 


"  The  act  of  those  three  men  deserves  to  be  re- 
membered," observed  the  colonel.  "  Had  they  been 
selfish  enough  to  accept  the  price  Andre  proffered 

for  permission  to 
pass  this  spot, 
our  Revolution 
might  have  had 
a  less  fortunate 
ending." 

"And  if  the 
young  major  had 
acted  more  dis- 
creetly when  he 
met  those  three 
honest  farmers, 
he  might  have 
rode  past  them 
without  suspicion.  He  mistook  them  for  tones,  and 
foolishly,  for  his  own  interests,  declared  himself  a 
British  officer.  That  declaration  saved  us  West 
Point,  but  cost  him  his  life.  It  was  one  of  the  many 
little  things  which  occurred  during  our  Revolution- 
ary war  that  reveal  the  finger  of  Providence  as  real- 
ly as  did  our  most  celebrated  victories." 

Tlu ise  jusl  remarks  by  the  host  of  our  party  led 
to  numerous  inquiries  on  the  part  of  Clarence,  Edith, 
and  Mrs.  Stuart,  to  which  the  colonel  and  his  friend 


SPOT    ON    WHICH    ASDI1E    AYA-     A  1. 1. !  -  1  1  i  • 


From  Sleepy  Hollow  to  Rockland  Lake.  87 

Andre  and  Arnold.       '  Three  aimed  rustics. 

replied  so  fully  that  they  left  the  following  impres- 
sions respecting  young  Andre  and  his  capture  on 
the  young  people's  minds  : — 

Young  Andre  had  been  sent  by  the  British  com- 
mander, at  Arnold's  request,  to  meet  the  latter  and 
arrange  for  the  treacherous  surrender  of  West  Point. 
The  vile  bargain  had  been  made.  The  fatal  papers 
were  in  the  feet  of  Andre's  stockings.  He  was  to  be 
taken  down  the  river  in  a  boat  to  the  English  frig- 
ate "  Vulture."  But  a  cannonade  from  the  shore 
had  compelled  her  to  descend  the  stream,  and  An- 
dre's guide,  J.  H.  Smith,  refused  to  take  him  to  her 
by  boat.  Hence,  guided  by  Smith,  he  rode  to  Pine's 
Bridge,  from  whence  he  pursued  his  journey  alone. 

On  that  eventful  morning  three  armed  rustics 
were  playing  cards  under  a  clump  of  trees  near  a 
spring  which  bubbled  up  close  by  a  little  stream  in 
Tarrytown,  still  known  as  Andre's  brook.  The  men 
were  volunteer  patriots,  on  the  lookout  for  tory  Cow 
Boys  and  suspicious  strangers.  In  the  midst  of  their 
game  the  sound  of  an  approaching  horse  startled 
them.  Leaping  to  their  feet  they  saw  a  horseman 
in  civilian's  dress,  but  riding  with  an  evidently  mili- 
tary air  and  manner.  One  of  these  men,  Paulding, 
had  on  the  dress  of  a  German  soldier,  in  which  he 
had  escaped  from  captivity  in  New  York.  For  this 
reason  Andre  supposed  that  he  and  his  comrades 


88  Summer  Days  ox  the  Hudson. 

Andre's  mistake.  The  search. 

were  in  sympathy  with  the  British,  and  exclaimed, 
as  he  rode  up  : — 

"  Thank  God,  I  am  once  more  among  friends !  " 

u  Stop  !  "  cried  Paulding,  presenting  his  musket. 

"  Gentlemen,"  replied  Andre  as  he  reined  in  his 
steed,  "  I  hope  you  belong  to  our  party." 

"What  party?"  asked  Paulding. 

"The  Lower  party,"  responded  the  major. 

"  I  do,"  said  Paulding. 

This  answer  threw  Andre  off  his  guard,  and  he 
replied,  "  I  am  a  British  officer,  out  in  the  country 
on  particular  business ;  I  hope  you  will  not  detain 
me  a  minute." 

Vain  hope  !  Paulding  sternly  bade  him  dismount ; 
a  command  which  opened  Andre's  eyes  to  the  fact 
that  he  was  in  the  hands  of  patriots.  Hoping  to 
satisfy  them,  he  showed  them  a  passport  signed  by 
the  then  unsuspected  traitor,  Arnold.  This,  but  for 
his  previous  avowal,  would  have  been  sufficient,  no 
doubt ;  but  now  the  suspicions  of  these  simple  farm- 
ers were  aroused.  They  again  bade  him  dismount. 
He  protested,  and  even  threatened,  but  without 
avail.  They  compelled  him  to  dismount,  and  lead- 
ing him  into  a  thicket  searched  him.  Even  then  he 
would  have  escaped  but  for  the  accidental  fact  that 

just    as   he    was   about    to    dress,.  «.nc    of  his   Captors 

noticed  something  unusual   in  the  feet  of  his  stock- 


From  Sleepy  Hollozv  to  Rockland  Lake.  89 


The  disco  very. 


The  arrest 


ings.  A  further  examination  revealed  the  fact  that 
their  prisoner  was  a  spy  with  memoranda  of  the 
fortifications  of  West  Point,  obtained  from  its  treach- 
erous commander.     Finding  that  his  real  character 


ANDRE    AKUESTEI). 


was  discovered,  Andre  offered  rich  bribes  to  his  cap- 
tors, but  their  patriotism  was  stronger  than  their 
cupidity,  and  they  forthwith  conducted  him  to  the 
nearest  American  post  and  delivered  him  up  to  its 
commander.     This  sealed  his  fate.     He  was  tried  as 

a  spy,  and  hanged  at  Tappan  nine  days  after  his 

8* 


90  Summer  Days  ox  the  Hudson. 

A  singular  coincidence.  A  private  conversation. 

capture.  But  for  the  unaccountable  stupidity  of  the 
officer  into  whose  hands  Andre  was  delivered,  in 
sending  information  of  his  capture  to  Arnold,  the 
latter  would  have  shared  his  fate  instead  of  escap- 
ing, as  he  did,  to  the  "  Vulture,"  a  British  ship  of 
war  lying  in  the  Hudson. 

They  were  also  told  by  their  host  that  the  noble 
whitewood  or  tulip  tree  beneath  which  Major  Andre 
was  arrested  was  smitten  by  lightning  on  the  very 
day  that  the  news  of  the  traitor  Arnold's  death, 
in  1801,  reached  Tarrytown,  concerning  which  fact 
the  colonel  with  much  gravity  remarked  : — 

"  A  singular  coincidence;  a  very  singular  coinci- 
dence !  " 

After  giving  due  expression  to  their  regret  that 
the  traitor  should  have  escaped,  and  the  less  guilty 
and  personally  noble  spy  should  have  brought  upon 
himself  so  ignoble  a  fate,  our  party  returned  to  their 
host's  villa  in  Irving  Park. 

During  the  evening  the  colonel  took  occasion 
to  talk  privately  to  Arthur  respecting  his  engage- 
ment with  Miss  Jennie.  I  le  did  not  scold  the  really 
sensible  lad,  but  reasoned  with  him  on  the  folly  of 
even  thinking  about  marriage  as  a  near  event,  at  his 
age  and  in  his  circumstances.  lie  closed  his  re- 
marks by  saying :  — 

"  Had  you  finished  your  education,  my  boy,  stud- 


From  Sleepy  Hollow  to  Rockland  Lake.         91 

Sensible  advice.  Awkward  situations. 

ied  your  profession,  and  were  you  mature  enough 
to  judge  whether  your  attachment  to  my  niece  be  a 
mere  boyish  fancy  or  a  true  affection  growing  out 
of  a  real  esteem  for  her  character,  I  should  be  most 
happy  to  see  you  married  to  her.  But  since  neither 
of  these  things  are  attained,  I  shall  take  very  de- 
cided steps  for  keeping  you  apart  unless  you  pledge 
your  honor,  after  one  more  private  interview  with 
the  young  lady,  to  dissolve  your  engagement,  and 
not  to  renew  it  without  my  consent. 

Had  Arthur  been  a  silly,  hair-brained  boy,  he 
would  have  rebelled  against  this  decision ;  but  be- 
ing a  lad  of  good  sense,  in  spite  of  his  foolish  love 
passage  with  Jennie,  he  pledged  his  honor  that  he 
would  meet  the  colonel's  wish.  And  as  Miss  Jen- 
nie, after  a  violent  fit  of  weeping,  was  brought  to 
make  a  similar  promise  to  her  mother,  the  two 
cousins,  after  a  few  awkward  situations,  soon  fell 
into  their  old  ways  and  feelings  toward  each  other. 
Young  as  they  were,  they  found  by  experience  that 
love  is  not  that  irresistible  madness  which  is  de- 
scribed in  unwholesome  novels,  but  a  feeling  readily 
kept  under  control  by  all  who  choose  to  hold  the 
reins. 

The  next  morning  the  colonel  proposed  to  as- 
cend the  Hudson  by  one  of  the  morning  boats  to 
Peekskill,  but  his  host  playfully  remarked  : — ■ 


92  Simmer  Days  ox  the  Hudson. 

The  name  of  Tarrytown.  On  board  a  yacht. 

"  That  cannot  be,  colonel !  You  must  conform 
to  the  traditions  of  this  town  as  recorded  for  your 
edification  by  that  most  veracious  historian,  Died- 
rich  Knickerbocker.  He  tells  us  that  our  town  re- 
ceived its  name  from  the  fact  that  when  the  old 
Dutch  farmers  came  here  on  business  they  were 
wont  to  tarry  a  long  time,  very  much  to  the  profit 
of  those  who  sold  the  drinks  they  loved  but  too  well, 
but  to  the  vexation  of  their  vrows  at  home.  Seeing, 
therefore,  that  you  are  in  Tarrytown  ■"  you  must  not 
hasten  away,  for  I  have  arranged  with  a  friend  to  take 
us  in  his  yacht  this  afternoon  across  Tappan  Bay." 

"  Well,  well,  since  it  is  not  by  the  attraction  of 
strong  waters  you  seek  to  make  us  tarry,"  retorted 
the  colonel,  smiling,  "  but  by  that  of  a  sail  on 
smooth  waters,  I  consent  to  the  kind  proposal,  pro- 
vided it  is  agreeable  to  my  sister  and  these  young 
folks." 

Of  course  no  one  objected,  and,  after  lunch,  the 

party   embarked   in   a   trim   little   yacht,   and    were 

borne  across  the   river  to  Piermont,  with  its  long 

dock,  built  by  the  Erie  Railway  Company,  running 

far  out  into  the  river,  and  its  green  bluffs  rising 

abruptly  behind  its  nanow  strip  of  streets.     Sailing 

*  The   Indians  called   it  A-lip-conck,  or   Place  of  Elms,   because 
that  tree  abounded  tlu-rc.    The  I1      b  called  it    Terwtn  /V; 
Wheat  Town,  because  that  grain  was  abundant  in  its  neighborhood 

sing's  "  I  I  nelson,"  ]>.  32S. 


From  Sleepy  Hollow  to  Rockland  Lake.         93 

A  steep  road.  A  charming  lake. 

into  Tappan  Bay  they  came  to  Nyack,  four  or  five 
miles  beyond,  and  greatly  admired  its  situation  on 
the  beautiful  slope  of  a  lofty  hill.  Still  farther  up 
the  river  they  came  to  Rockland  Lake  village,  op- 
posite Sing  Smg,  where  their  host  proposed  land- 
ing.    Said  he  : — 

"  If  the  ladies  do  not  mind  climbing  up  a  steep 
road  some  two  hundred  feet,  we  can  land  here  and 
visit  the  famous  Rockland  Lake." 

The  ladies  all  asserted  their  ability  to  ascend  the 
steep  bank  of  the  river.  The  yacht  was,  therefore, 
put  alongside  of  a  wharf  belonging  to  the  Knicker- 
bocker Ice  Company,  and  our  party  speedily  began 
the  steep  ascent. 

"  Pretty  tough  work,  this !  "  exclaimed  the  pant- 
ing colonel  several  times  on  the  way  up  ;  but  when 
they  reached  the  lake,  about  half  a  mile  from  the 
river,  and  had  gazed  a  few  moments  on  its  crystal 
waters,  which  cover  about  five  hundred  acres,  and 
on  the  fertile  country  lying  to  the  westward,  bounded 
by  blue  mountains  in  the  distance,  he  exclaimed, 

"  What  a  charming  little  lake  !  The  view  is  worth 
all  the  fatigue  it  cost  us  to  get  here." 

"  What  delicious  water  !  "  exclaimed  Clarence  after 
drinking  from  his  hand. 

"  Purer  water  can  scarcely  be  found,"  replied  their 
Tarrytown  host.    "  It  comes  from  springs  fed  by  yon- 


94 


Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 


Ice-houses. 


Source  of  the  Hackensack. 


der  hills  and  mountains,  and  from  little  brooks  which 
trickle  down  their  sides." 

Their  attention  was  next  directed  to  the  numer- 
ous ice-houses  on   the  eastern  margin  of  the  lake, 


w  - 


from  which  so  large  a  portion  of  the  ice  used  in  New 
York  is  supplied.  They  learned,  also,  that  the  lake 
forms  the  chief  source  of  the  Hackensack  River, 
which,  after  flowing  through  a  charming  country 
behind  the   Palisades,  empties  into  Newark  Bay. 

After  having  seen  all  that  was  worth  seeing,  our 
party  descended  to  the  shore  and  re-embarked  in  their 
pretty  little  yacht.  Crossing  Tappan  Bay  with  a 
pleasant   breeze,   they  sailed  beyond  Sing  Sing  to 


From  Sleepy  Holloiv  to  Rockland  Lake.         95 


(Jroton  P>ay. 


An  old  Manor-  house. 


Croton  Bay.  There,  at  their  kind  host's  invitation, 
they  landed  and  proceeded  to  the  Van  Cortlandt 
Manor-house. 


VAN    CORTI.AXIVT    M  A  NOR-IK  > :   SI .. 


This  unique  building,  they  were  told,  is  a  century 
and  a  half  old.  It  was  built  of  heavy  stone.  Loop- 
holes for  muskets  once  pierced  its  thick  walls,  for 
defense  against  the  warlike  Indians  who  in  those 
days  made  frequent  attacks  upon  the  colonists.  Its 
unhammered  stone  has  been  hidden  by  stucco,  and 
Miss  Jennie  said  it  had  a  "  cozy,  homelike  look." 

"  These  Van  Cortlandts,"  remarked  the  colonel, 


96  Summer  Days  ox  the  Hudson. 

The  Van  Oortlandts.  The  true  nobility. 

"  have  a  history.  I  think  they  descended  from  the 
Dukes  of  Courland,  in  Russia.  Deprived  of  their 
dukedom  by  autocratic  power,  they  emigrated  first 
to  Holland  and  then  to  America.  Here  the  son  of 
the  first  emigrant  of  this  illustrious  house  pur- 
chased the  large  estate  of  which  this  manor  is  a 
part.  They  have  since  mingled  their  blood  by  inter- 
marriages with  the  best  of  the  old  colonial  families." 

"  These  things  all  sound  very  nice,"  remarked 
Edith.  "  I  think  sometimes  that  I  should  like  to  feel 
that  my  ancestors  were  dukes,  or  princes,  or  lords 
of  some  sort ;  but  then  I  don't  think  that  would 
make  me  any  happier  than  I  am  now.  Do  you, 
uncle?" 

"  Not  in  the  least,  my  dear,  not  in  the  least.  Our 
happiness  does  not  depend  on  who  our  ancestors 
were,  but  on  what  we  are  ourselves.  One  may 
justly  prize  the  fact  that  his  immediate  ancestors 
were  honorable  and  virtuous ;  but  mere  pride  of 
ancestry  is  the  silliest  of  all  the  forms  of  pride,  since 
in  reality  all  are  children  of  one  ancestor,  the  ban- 
ished lord  of  Eden.  The  best,  the  only  real  patent 
of  nobility  is  derived  from  our  adoption  into  the 
family  of  the  Infinite  One,  through  faith  in  David's 
royal  Son.  Such  nobility  is,  indeed,  honorable,  and 
it  inherits  the  privilege  of  happiness  here  and  in 
the  great  hereafter." 


From  Tarrytown  to  Stony  Point.  97 

A  wet  day.  Legendary  lore. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

FROM    TARRYTOWN   TO    STONY    POINT. 

r\;pjHE  next  day  was  dull  and  wet,  and  our  party, 
(jt),  urgently  pressed  by  their  hospitable  host  and 
hostess,  remained  at  the  villa.  This,  of  course,  threw 
the  young  people  much  together,  and  put  the  honor 
of  Arthur  and  Jennie  to  a  severe  test.  They  had, 
as  you  have  already  seen,  wisely  agreed  to  postpone 
all  further  love  passages  until  they  should  arrive  at 
a  more  suitable  age.  But  they  had  set  themselves 
a  hard  task,  as  they  found  when  compelled  to  spend 
a  day  together  within  doors.  However,  their  good 
sense  and  strong  resolution  aided  them  very  effect- 
ually, and,  but  for  some  occasional  blushing  and 
blundering,  they  deported  themselves  very  nearly  as 
before  their  hastily  begun  endearments,  which,  as 
the  reader  must  admit,  was  both  wise  and  dutiful 
conduct. 

Among  other  pastimes  resorted  to  that  dull  day 
was  the  relation  of  such  legendary  lore  as  they 
could  recollect  from  their  previous  reading.  Arthur, 
who  was  especially  interested  in  the  former  savage 

lords  of  the  river  and  adjacent   country,  and   who 
9 


98  Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 

The  story  of  Shingebiss. 

had  been  searching,  but  with  poor  success,  for  le- 
gends of  the  Hudson  River  tribes,  related  the  follow- 
ing allegory,  which  had  been  told  in  many  a  Chip- 
pewa wigwam  in  the  olden  time. 

Indian  story-tellers,  he  said,  loved  to  tell  of  the 
wonderful  Shingebiss,  who  could  be  man  or  duck  at 
will.  He  was  a  lonely  man,  dwelling  by  himself, 
seeking  friendship  of  no  other  Indians,  but  treating 
all  who  came  to  his  wigwam  with  cheerful  kindness. 
It  chanced,  one  autumn,  that  he  did  not  go  South 
as  usual  when  the  ice-spirit  began  his  reign  over  the 
North,  but  remained  until  the  ice  became  thick,  and 
the  weather  cold.  When  he  was  hungry  he  went 
where  the  flags  grew,  changed  himself  into  a  duck, 
pulled  up  the  flags  with  his  bill,  dived  through  the 
hole  thus  made,  caught  plenty  of  fish,  went  home, 
ate  his  fish,  laid  down  before  his  fire,  smoked,  and 
made  himself  very  happy. 

This  content  of  Shingebiss  vexed  the  restless 
Kabibonocca,  the  god  of  the  north-west  wind.  It 
looked  like  a  defiance  of  his  power,  and  he  said  : — 

"This  must  be  a  wonderful  man.  He  does  not 
mind  the  coldest  day,  but  is  as  happy  as  if  it  were 
the  moon  of  straw  berries  (June).  I  will  give  linn 
cold  blasts  to  his  heart's  content.*' 

Then  the  north-wind  blew  cold  and  stormy;  but 
Shingebiss  was  unmoved.     He  lived  happily  before 


From  Tarry toivn  to  Stony  Point.  99 

Kubibonocca's  assault  on  Shingebiss. 

his  wigwam  fire,  or  walked  out  and  caught  loads  of 
fish  in  spite  of  the  ice-spirit's  anger. 

Kabibonocca's  rage  increased,  and  he  said,  "  Shall 
he  withstand  me?  I  will  visit  him.  I  will  see 
where  his  great  power  lies.  If  my  presence  does 
not  freeze  him  he  must  be  made  of  rock." 

Then  Kabibonocca  went  to  the  lodge  of  Shinge- 
biss,  and  peeping  in  saw  him  eat  his  supper  of  fish ; 
saw  him  lying  on  his  elbow  before  his  fire  ;  heard 
him  sing, 

Kabibonocca,  neej  ininee 

We-ya,  Ah-ya-ya-ia 
Kabibonocco,  neej  ininee 

We-ye,  Ah 

I  aw  reej  ininee,  ua, — ia, 
Shingebiss  ia-ya,  ya,  ia. 

Windy  god,  I  know  your  plan 

You  are  but  my  fellow-man  ; 
Blow  you  may  your  coldest  breeze, 

Shingebiss  you  cannot  freeze. 
Sweep  the  strongest  wind  you  can, 

Shingebiss  is  still  your  man  ; 
Heigh  for  life,  and  hi  for  bliss, 

Who  so  free  as  Shingebiss." 

Then  Kabibonocca  went  inside  the  lodge.  Shinge- 
biss, undisturbed,  still  sat  in  profound  repose.  He 
was  calm,  easy,  indifferent  to  the  cold.  He  took 
his  poker,  stirred  his  fire,  lay  down,  and  sung  his 
song  again. 

Presently  Kabibonocca  began  to  weep.     Said  he, 


ioo        Summer  Days  ox  the  Hudson. 

The  Indian's  ideal  of  endurance. 

"I  cannot  stand  this;  the  fellow  will  melt  me  if  I 
do  not  go  out." 

Thus  saying  he  went  out  in  a  rage  and  froze  up 
to  thick  ice  every  orifice  wherein  the  flags  grew. 
But  Shingebiss  only  went  farther  for  his  fish,  and 
kept  on  his  fire  and  his  singing,  until  Kabibonocca 
said  : — 

"  He  must  be  some  Minito  (spirit.)  I  can  neither 
freeze  him  nor  starve  him.     I  will  let  him  alone*" 

"  Pretty  good ! "  exclaimed  the  colonel  when 
Arthur  had  finished  his  legend.  "  I  like  Shingebiss. 
He  represents  the  Indian's  ideal  of  endurance.  Low 
as  the  red  man  was  in  most  virtues,  he  certainly  ex- 
celled in  his  ability  to  suffer.  He  was,  indeed,  the 
stoic  of  the  forest.  He  knew  how  to  endure  even 
torture  with  a  silent  dignity,  which  few  of  us  An- 
glo-Americans can  equal." 

Our  plan  does  not  permit  us  to  record  the  further 
conversation  and  movements  of  our  friends  at  Tar- 
rytown,  except  to  say,  that  the  next  day,  which 
was  Sabbath,  they  worshiped  in  the  ancient,  quaint 
little  church  already  referred  to,  built  in  1699,  the 
oldest  church  edifice  in  the  State  of  New  Vork, 
standing  near  Sleepy  Hollow.  After  service  they 
again  visited  the  new  cemetery,  just  beyond,  and 
stood,  a  second  time,  beside  the  humble  grave  of 
Irving,  the  magician,  whose  delightful  pen  has  given 


From  Tarry  town  to  Stony  Point.  101 

On  the  river  again.  Sing  Sing. 

immortality  to  the  superstitious  lore  of  the  quaint, 
old  Dutch  people,  who  once  owned  the  shores  of 
the  Hudson.  Many  kind  words  were  spoken  of  that 
genial  writer,  and  then,  after  enjoying  the  splendid 
view  which  delights  the  eye  of  every  lover  of  the 
beautiful  who  visits  it,  they  returned  to  their  tem- 
porary home  in  Irving  Park. 

The  next  morning  found  them  on  board  a  steam- 
er ascending  the  river.  They  were  soon  abreast  of 
the  flourishing  village  of  Sing  Sing,*  which  is  "  beau- 
tiful for  situation."  It  is  on  the  east  bank  of  the 
river,  which  is  here  four  miles  wide.  It  reminded 
them,  by  its  extensive  prisons  near  the  shore,  quite 
as  forcibly  of  those  crimes  which  spoil  human  beauty 
as  of  that  love  for  natural  beauty  which  had  chosen 
this  delightful  acclivity  for  the  location  of  a  town. 

"O!"  exclaimed  Edith  with  a  shudder,  as  the 
boat  glided  past  the  prison  buildings,  "  what  a 
wretched  life  the  poor  creatures  in  those  dreary- 
looking  buildings  must  live  !" 

"  No  doubt  of  that,  my  dear,"  replied  the  colonel ; 
"  but  we  must  not  forget  that  their  chief  misery 
arises  from  what  they  are  rather  than  from  where 

*  So  named,  say  some,  by  a  Dutch  trader  after  the  Chinese  city  of 
Tsing  Tsing  ;  Lossing  traces  it  to  Sint-Sinck,  the  name  of  a  tribe  of 
the  Mohegan  Indians  ;  others  trace  it  to  the  Indian  name,  Os-sin-ing 
from  ossin,  a  stone,  and  ing,  a  place — stony-place.  The  latter  seems 
most  probable. 
9* 


102 


Simmer  Days  on  the  Hudson, 


The  State-prison  at  Sing  Sing. 


they  are.  They  are  treated  kindly — too  much  so, 
possibly — fed  with  an  abundance  of  wholesome  food  ; 
not  overworked,  lodged  in  comfortable  cells,  and  are 


allowed  the  use  of  books  and  of  religious  privil< 
In  fact,  they  have  every  thing  given  them  that  is 
necessary  to  comfortable  subsistence.  Their  chief 
punishment  consists  of  deprivation  of  liberty  and 
of  enforced  silence.  The  latter,  no  doubt,  is  very, 
very  hard  to  endure.  If  solitary  confinement  were 
added  to  it,  as  was  on.ee  the  case,  it  would  be  fear- 


From  Tarrytown  to  Stony  Point  103 

The  colonel's  opinions.  Tappan  Bay. 

ful.  But  the  humane  spirit  of  the  Gospel  has  made 
the  prison-life  of  modern  criminals  so  endurable  as 
to  be  but  little  dreaded  by  men  who  make  crime 
the  business  of  their  lives." 

"  But  would  you  have  the  State  return  to  the  old 
methods  of  treating  criminals,  colonel?"  asked  Mrs. 
Stuart. 

"  Not  exactly.  In  fact,  I  have  no  very  positive 
opinions  on  the  difficult  question  of  how  to  treat 
criminals.  I  only  think  that  the  State-prison  of  to- 
day is  not  much  dreaded  by  bad  men.  I  incline  to 
think  that  the  expatriation  of  confirmed  criminals  to 
Alaska,  or  some  other  desolate  land,  where  they 
would  be  compelled  by  circumstances  to  lead  lives 
of  industry  or  starve,  would  be  a  greater  terror  to 
evil-doers,  and  a  likelier  means  of  bringing  about 
their  restoration — but  we  are  passing  Sing  Sing  and 
approaching  Croton,  formerly  Teller's,  Point. 

Every  eye  was  now  turned  toward  the  narrow 
neck  of  land  which  stretches  nearly  two  miles  out 
into  the  river,  and  divides  Tappan  Bay,  or  Tap- 
paanse  Zee,  as  the  Dutch  called  it,  from  Haver- 
straw  Bay.  This  point,  the  colonel  told  them,  was 
called  Se-nas-qua  by  the  Indians.  An  Englishman, 
not  having  very  clear  ideas  of  the  ill  effects  of  rum, 
bought  the  Point  of  the  red  men  for  a  barrel  of 
rum   and   twelve   blankets.     He  changed  its  name 


104 


Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 


Croton  Point. 


A  lovely  bay. 


to  Sarah's  Point,  in  honor  of  his  wife ;  but  the 
public,  less  gallant  than  the  husband,  called  it  Tel- 
ler's Point  until  lately,  when  the  same  capricious 
authority  changed  it  to  Croton  Point. 


''J*WZr: 


CROTON    I'mis  f,    FROM    BIN 


Before  reaching  the  Point  the  colonel  pointed 
them  to  the  mouth  of  the  Croton  River  and  said, — 

"I  wish  we  had  time  and  opportunity  to  ascend 
Croton  Bay  into  tin-  river.  The  bay,  with  its  little 
islet,  its  miniature  inlets,  and  its  jutting  points,  is 
like  a  portion  of  fairyland.  On  a  still  day  and  in  a 
hazy  atmosphere  one  feels  as  if  he  were  in  some 
dreamy  "  land  of  drowsy  head."    The  scenery  of  the 


From  Tarry  town  to  Stony  Point.  105 


Mouth  of  the  Croton. 


MOUTH    OF   THE    CKOTON. 


river  itself  is  very  picturesque.  I  was  very  much 
struck  with  its  beauty,  especially  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  rickety  old  High  Bridge." 


106        Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 

Sources  of  the  Croton.  Havers traw  Bay. 

''Uncle,  is  that  the  river  which  supplies  New 
York  with  water?"  asked  Jennie. 

"  The  very  same,  my  dear." 

"Where  did  it  get  its  name,  sir?"  inquired  Clar- 
ence. 

11  Tradition  derives  it  from  an  Indian  sachem 
named  Croton.  The  Indians  themselves  called  it 
KitcJi-a-ivan,  the  swift  stream.  It  rises  in  the  green 
hills  of  Putnam  and  Dutchess.  Its  waters  are  very 
pure.  They  are  collected  into  a  vast  reservoir, 
which  is,  in  fact,  an  artificial  lake,  six  miles  long, 
formed  by  a  dam,  and  containing  five  hundred  mill- 
ion gallons  of  water.  This  flows  into  that  wonder- 
ful aqueduct,  forty  miles  in  length,  by  which  the 
people  of  New  York  arc  supplied  with  water,  at  the 
rate  of  forty  thousand  gallons  per  minute.  At  some 
future  time  we  must  visit  this  vast  reservoir  and 
other  great  works  connected  with  it.  Now,  we  arc 
just  rounding  the  Point  and  entering  Haverstraw 
Bay." 

The  young  people  were  greatly  interested  in 
Haverstraw,  which  lies  on  the  west  shore  of  the 
river,  about  thirty-seven  miles  from  New  York,  be- 
cause the  scene  of  Arnold's  secret  meeting  with 
Andre  was  in  an  estuary  just  below  it.  The  colonel 
related  the  facts  with  such  graphic  power  that  the 
scenes  rose  in   their  minds  like  a  series  of  pictures. 


From  Tarry  town  to  Stony  Point. 


107 


Meeting  place  of  the  traitor  "and  spy. 


They  mentally  saw  the  mysterious  movement  of  a 
boat  with  muffled  oars,  held  by  a  single  boatman, 
paddling  out  from  the  creek  at  midnight  and  ap- 
proaching the  "  Vulture,"  which  lay  like  a  vast  shad- 


ow on  the  river.  They  saw  the  descent  of  Andre" 
from  the  frigate  in  dead  silence,  and  the  boat  mov- 
ing back  to  the  creek.  They  watched  the  boatman 
as  he  guided  his  companion  into  a  thicket,  and  they 
heard  him  whisper  his  introduction  as  John  Ander- 
sen (his  assumed  name)  to  Gustavus  (Arnold's  as- 
sumed name).  They  gazed  on  the  traitor  and  the 
spy,  standing  in  the  deep  shadows  of  the  trees,  talk- 


io8 


Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 


Movements  of  the  spy  and  traitor. 


ing  with  earnestness,  but  in  whispers,  and  with  fre- 
quent starts  and  suspicious  glances  on  every  side. 
They  pictured  the  gradual  breaking  of  night  into 
morning,  the  return  and  warning  words  of  the  boat- 


man, Joshua  IT.  Smith,  the  mounting  of  Andre  and 
Arnold  upon  the  latter's  horses,  the  ride  within  the 
American  lines,  the  sentinel's  challenge,  Andrews 
hesitation,  Arnold's  attempt  to  assure  him  of  safety, 
their  ride  to  Smith's  house  on  Treason  Hill,  the 
alarm  of  both  as  the  heavy  boom  of  a  gun  from  the 
river  below  fell  on  their  ears,  Andrews  disquietude 


From  Tarry  town  to-  Stony  Point. 


109 


Mental  pictures  whicli  seemed  real. 


when  he  saw  the  "Vulture"  drop  down  the  river, 
beyond  the  range  of  the  shots  which  were  assail- 
ing it  from  Croton  Point,  the  hiding  of  the  fatal 
papers  in  the  spy's  stockings,  his  passage  across  the 


GRASSY   POINT    AND    TORN    MOUNTAIN. 


river  under  Smith's  escort,  and  his  ride  to  Tarry- 
town,  where  he  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  patriot 
guards.  All  these  pictures  seemed  like  passing 
realities  ^s  they  listened,  and  so  engaged  their  at- 
tention that  they  started  when  some  one  near  them 

said  to  a  companion  : — ■ 
U 


no        Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 

Hendrick  Hudson  and  the  Indians. 

"  That  little  village  on  yonder  tongue  of  land  is 
Grassy  Point." 

"  Grassy  Point !  "  exclaimed  the  colonel,  pointing 
toward  the  west  side  of  the  river;  "that  is  a  little 
brick-making  community.  We  shall  soon  be  at  Stony 
Point." 

"  That's  where  old  Hendrick  Hudson  had  an 
affray  with  the  up-river  Indians,"  observed  Arthur. 
"  They  crowded  round  his  vessel  in  such  numbers 
that  he  had  to  use  fire-arms  to  keep  them  back. 
He  killed  one  of  their  number,  and  that  changed 
them  from  wonder-stricken  friends  into  blood-thirsty 
enemies." 

"  I  don't  see  how  he  could  have  done  otherwise, 
though,"  observed  the  colonel.  "  It  would  not  have 
been  either  prudent  or  safe  to  let  them  crowd  into 
his  little  craft.  But  now  we  can  see  Stony  Point 
clearly.  You  observe  there  is  nothing  of  it  but  a 
rough  granite  promontory  jutting  into  the  river  and 
crowned  with  a  light-house  and  a  fog  bell.  But, 
barren  and  useless  as  it  is,  it  is  rich  in  heroic  asso- 
ciations. The  capture  of  the  fort  by  "Mad  Anthony" 
was  one  of  the  most  daring  deeds  of  our  Revolution- 
ary war." 

"Tell  us  about  it  if  you  please,  sir,"  said  Clarence, 

The  colonel,  nothing  loth,  then  told  them  that 
early  in   the   war  our   patriot  fathers  built  a  fort  on 


From  Tarrytown  to  Stony  Point. 


in 


Two  famous  forts. 


Stony  Point,  and  also  on  Vcrplanck's  Point  opposite, 
on  the  east  side  of  the  river.  As"  these  forts  com- 
manded the  river,  the  British  attacked  them  with 
superior  numbers  and  captured  them  without  loss 


YERPLANCKS   POINT,   FP.OM   STONY   POINT    LIGHT  -lluLSE. 

on  either  side.  But  seeing  how  important  these 
lost  forts  were  to  the  command  of  the  Highlands  of 
the  Hudson,  Washington  resolved  to  recapture  and 
hold  them.  With  his  habitual  caution,  he  first  made 
himself  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  works  and 
the  approaches  thereto.     This  done,  he  committed 


ii2         Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 

A  midnight  assault. 

the  perilous  task  to  General  Anthony  Wayne  called 
"Mad  Anthony,"  because  of  his  daring  character. 
He,  fully  aware  of  the  danger  to  be  confronted,  ac- 
cepted the  command  with  a  remark  which  was  as 
profane  as  it  was  bold.  With  only  two  hundred  and 
ninety  men  he  marched,  on  the  night  of  July  15, 
1779,  to  attempt  the  seemingly  hopeless  task. 

The  fort  crowned  the  promontory,  as  the  light- 
house does  now.  The  waves  of  the  Hudson  washed 
the  sides  of  the  hill  and  overflowed  a  morass  at  high 
water  on  another  side.  Abatis  surrounded  the  hill. 
The  fort  bristled  with  cannon.  But  Wayne  forded 
the  morass,  formed  his  men  into  two  columns,  and, 
at  or  shortly  after  midnight,  moved  in  silence 
to  the  attack.  His  devoted  men  marched  up  the 
hill  hoping  to  surprise  the  foe.  But  the  sentinels 
were  wary  and  watchful.  The  alarm  was  given,  the 
drums  rolled,  the  cry,  to  arms!  to  arms!  echoed 
through  the  fort.  The  garrison  rushed  to  the  ram- 
parts and  poured  fearful  showers  of  iron  hail  down 
upon  the  assailants.  But,  nothing  daunted,  our  pa- 
triot soldiers  pressed  over  the  abatis,  marched  over 
their  own  (load,  advanced  steadfastly  up  the  heights, 
as  their  heroic  leader  kept  shouting  "  Forward  ! 
Forward  !  "  A  shot  grazed  "  Mad  Anthony's  "  head 
and  brought  him  down  to  his  knees;  but  while  tin- 
blood  from  his  wound  blinded  his  eyes,  he  shouted  : — 


From  Tarrytown  to  Stony  Point.  113 

"Mad  Anthony's11  victory. 

"  March  on  !     Carry  mc  into  the  fort.     I  will  die 
at  the  head  of  my  column." 


ANTHONY    WAYNE. 


And  march  on  they  did  until  both  columns  met 
in  the  middle  of  the  fort.  The  British  cried  for 
quarter.  The  patriots  wildly  shouted,  "  Victory ! 
victory!  "  and  at  two  o'clock  "  Mad  Anthony,"  not 
seriously  hurt  by  his  wound,  wrote  these  telling 
words  to  Washington  : — 


ii4         Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 

Splendid  fighting.  Two  great  wars. 

"Stony  Point,  2  A.M. 

"Dear  General: — The  American   flag  waves 
here!" 

11  Yours  truly,  ANTHONY  WAYNE." 

"  That  was  splendid  fighting !  "  exclaimed  Clar- 
ence enthusiastically.  "  I  should  like  to  do  such  a 
deed  if  I  were  a  soldter." 

Edith  cast  a  sad,  reproachful  look  on  the  young 
man.  Her  mild  nature  could  see  nothing  but  the 
painful  side  of  battle  scenes.  Her  tender  sympathy 
for  the  suffering  swallowed  up  her  admiration  for 
the  hero  whose  greenest  laurels  sprang  from  the 
blood  of  his  fellow-creatures.  The  colonel  noticed 
her  expression,  read  its  meaning,  and  said  : — 

"  Edith  does  not  admire  military  heroes.  Her 
heart  is  too  soft  to  find  pleasure  in  their  loftiest 
deeds.  May  be  she  is  right.  War  is  terrible,  and  is 
never  right  except  when  waged  against  evils,  which, 
owing  to  the  vast  range  of  their  influence,  are  worse 
than  war  in  their  aggregate  results.  Our  war  for 
political  liberty  a  hundred  years  ago,  and  our  recent 
war  to  preserve  the  unity  of  our  country,  were  both 
of  this  character.  While,  therefore,  we  shiver  when 
we  look  at  the  suffering  and  loss  of  life  they  in- 
volved, we  must  not  refuse  our  admiration  to  the 
heroic  men  to  whose  courage  we  owe  our  victories.' 


Through  the  Highlands.  1 1 5 


pent-up  river.  Gigantic  exploit. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

'    THROUGH   THE    HIGHLANDS. 

tHE  boat  was  by  this  time  approaching  the  most 
attractive  portion  of  our  magnificent  river — 
the  Highlands.  Said  the  colonel,  as  he  pointed  to- 
ward the  tall,  misty  hills  from  between  which  the 
stream  issued  like  some  huge  Python  emerging  from 
its  den  : — 

"  We  are  now  about  to  pass  some  of  the  finest 
scenery  in  the  world.  For  the  next  twenty  miles 
we  shall  find  this  majestic  river  pent  in  between 
cliffs  which  rise  from  one  thousand  to  fifteen  hun- 
dred feet  high — forming  a  gap  which  suggests  that 
at  some  time,  in  ages  past,  this  river,  anciently  a 
vast  lake,  broke  through  its  rocky  barriers  and  cut 
for  itself  a  passage  to  the  sea." 

"  I  recollect  some  lines  descriptive  of  that  sup- 
posed gigantic  exploit,"  remarked  Clarence  in  a  tone 
slightly  sarcastic.     "  The  poet  says  of  it : — 

"  '  The  pent-up  flood,  impatient  of  control, 

In  ages  past  here  burst  its  granite  bound, 
Then  to  the  sea  in  broad  meanders  stole. 

While  pond'rous  ruin  strewed  the  broken  ground, 

And  these  gigantic  hills  forever  closed  around.'  " 


u6        Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 

Unrivaled  natural  beauty.  Peekskill. 

"Graphic  lines!  but  I  suspect  you  doubt  their 
truth,  Clarence,"  observed  Mrs.  Stuart. 

"  I  think  that  probably  we  know  quite  as  much 
about  it  as  the  poet  did,"  replied  Clarence,  laugh- 
ing. 

"  Very  likely,  very  likely,"  replied  the  colonel  ; 
"  men  may  talk  with  much  show  of  wisdom  con- 
cerning the  ways  in  which  nature  did  her  work  in 
the  long,  long  ago;  but  they  really  know  very  little 
about  it.  This  much,  however,  we  shall  soon  find 
to  be  true  :  our  course  lies  between  heights  in  which 
our  majestic  H-udson  possesses  unrivaled  beauties. 
To  use  a  poet's  language : — 

"'By  wooded  bluffs  we  steal,  by  leaning  lawn, 
By  palace,  village,  cot ;  a  sweet  surprise, 
At  every  turn,  the  vision  breaks  upon.'" 

The  boat,  after  touching  at  Caldwell's  Landing, 
which  lies  on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  forty-four 
miles  from  New  York,  directly  under  the  Dondcr- 
berg  Mountain,  proceeded  toward  Peekskill,  two 
miles  higher  up  on  the  eastern  side. 

"Peekskill!"  exclaimed  Jennie,  "what  a  queer 
name." 

"  It  was  derived  from  an  old  Dutch  captain, 
named  Jan  Peek,"  replied  the  colonel.  "He  mis- 
took the  creek  which  enters  the  river  here  for  the 
head  waters  of  the   Hudson,  ran  his  vessel  ashore, 


Through  the  Highlands. 


'/ 


Peekskill. 


Paulding's  monument. 


Q&9>- 


THE  PEEKSKILT.   IN   WINTER   BY   MOONLIGHT. 

and  began  the  settlement  of  yon  slope  on  which  the 
village  is  so  cosily  built.  The  Indians  called  it 
Mag-ri-ga-ries,  and  its  vi- 
cinity Sack-hoes.  It  was 
the  birthplace  of  John 
Paulding,  one  of  the  cap- 
tors of  Andre,  as  you 
doubtless  remember,  and 
its  grave-yard  contains  a 
marble  monument  to  his 
memory." 


S    MONTMKNI. 


i  iS         Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 

The  beautiful  spy.  The  treason  tree. 

"  I  chiefly  remember  it,"  remarked  Mrs.  Stuart, 
"  as  the  residence  of  the  beautiful  female  spy, 
Miss  Moncrieff,  who,  during  the  war  of  the  Revo- 
lution, made  her  charms  the  instrument  of  win- 
ning military  information,  which  she  sent  to  our 
enemies." 

At  the  request  of  her  daughters  Mrs.  Stuart  then 
told  the  story  of  Miss  Moncrieff's  pretended  sym- 
pathy with  the  patriots,  by  which  she  so  won  the 
confidence  of  well-informed  gentlemen  as  to  worm 
from  them  important  information  respecting  the 
intended  movements  of  our  revolutionary  army. 
Whatever  she  thus  learned  she  wrote  down,  and 
hid  the  tell-tale  papers  near  a  tree  previously  des- 
ignated. Her  notes  were  taken  by  sympathetic 
tories,  and  passed  from  hand  to  hand  to  the  British 
head-quarters  in  New  York. 

Her  trips  to  this  treason  tree  were  made  on 
horseback.  She  rode  a  spirited  animal,  which  she 
managed  with  the  skill  and  courage  of  an  Amazon. 
But  one  day,  while  on  her  guilty  errand,  a  dog 
startled  her  horse  so  that  she  lost  her  seat  and  fell, 
badly  stunned,  to  the  ground.  The  owners  of  a 
neighboring  farm-house  picked  her  up,  and,  after 
conveying  her  to  their  house,  laid  her  on  a  bed.  In 
their  efforts  for  her  restoration  they  unbuttoned  the 
vest  of  her  riding  habit.     On   recovering  conscious- 


Through  the  Highlands.  1 19 


The  spy  discovered.  Her  life  spared. 


ness  she  noticed  that  her  vest  was  open,  and  start- 
ing up,  exclaimed,  with  intense  agitation, 

"  Who  unbuttoned  my  waistcoat?  Where  is  the 
letter?     Ah  !  I  am  lost,  lost !  " 

Had  she  betrayed  less  emotion  she  would  have  re- 
covered the  traitorous  letter  from  the  unsuspecting 
woman  who  held  it.  But  her  agitated  manner  ex- 
cited the  suspicion  of  a  man  present,  and  he  sprang 
forward  and  snatched  the  missive  from  the  woman's 
hand.  Miss  Moncrieff  begged  hkn,  with  agonizing 
earnestness,  to  restore  it  to  her.  But  he,  seeing  it 
was  addressed  to  some  one  in  New  York,  positively 
refused.  Upon  this  the  lady,  finding  herself  unin- 
jured by  her  fall,  left  the  house,  hastened  to  her 
residence,  and  prepared  for  instant  flight  to  the 
British  lines.  Her  preparations  were  cut  short, 
however,  by  the  entrance  of  a  patriot  officer,  who 
placed  her  under  arrest. 

The  letter  was  found  to  contain  important  infor- 
mation of  an  intended  movement  by  the  American 
army.  An  examination  brought  out  complete  evi- 
dence of  treasonable  practices.  By  the  laws  of  war 
her  life  was  forfeited  ;  but  her  sex,  her  youth,  her 
beauty,  and  the  aversion  of  the  Americans  to  deal 
harshly  with  a  woman,  saved  her  life.  She  was  held 
as  a  prisoner  for  some  time,  but  was  never  brought 
to  trial.     She  was  finally  restored  to  her  friends. 


120 


Summer  Days  ox  the  Hudson. 


What  is  expected  of  women. 


"  An  interesting  but  painful  story,"  remarked  the 
colonel.  "Treason,  or  any  other  crime,  indeed,  ap- 
pears worse  in  a  woman  than  in  a  man,  because,  I 
suppose,  we  naturally  expect  to  find  a  woman,  espe- 


WIN  I  I  R    FISHING. 


cially  an  accomplished  one,  on  the  side  of  whatever 
is  noble  and  true." 

As  they  swept  past  Peekskill  Bay  the  colonel  told 
them  that  in  winter  time  he  had  often  seen  one  por- 
tion of  it  alive  with  fishermen. 


Fishing   in   winter,  uncle 


ex 


xclaimed    Edith, 


Through  the  Highlands.  121 

Fishing  beneath  the  ice.  Ice-boats. 

with  a  look  of  surprise.  "  How  is  that  possible? 
Doesn't  it  freeze  here?" 

"  O  yes,  it  freezes  hard  enough  to  satisfy  a  Green- 
lander ;  but  these  ingenious  Peekskill  men  cut  long, 
narrow  fissures  in  the  ice,  through  which  they  let 
down  their  nets  at  right  angles  with  the  tidal  cur- 
rents. Twice  a  day  they  pull  up  their  nets,  and 
rarely  without  capturing  numerous  striped  bass, 
white  perch,  or  young  sturgeon.  This  kind  of  fish- 
ing is  carried  on  from  the  Donderberg  to  Piermont, 
and  is  said  to  be  as  profitable  as  summer  fishing." 

"  Your  speaking  of  fishermen  on  the  ice,"  ob- 
served Arthur,  "  reminds  me,  sir,  of  the  reports  I 
have  read  about  the  ice-boats  used  on  the  Hudson. 
Did  you  ever  see  them,  sir?" 

"  Yes,  my  son  ;  this  bay,  like  many  other  places 
on  the  river,  is  often  gay  with  swift  running  ice- 
boats and  merry  skaters.  I  saw  many  of  the  former 
and  hundreds  of  the  latter  last  winter,  making-  the 
bay  almost  as  gay  as  the  Corso  at  Rome  during 
the  Carnival,  but  far  less  silly.  The  ice-boat  is  of 
many  forms,  but  is  usually  a  triangular  platform  on 
runners  shod  with  skate-irons.  '  The  rear  runner  is 
worked  on  a  pivot  or  hinge,  by  a  tiller  attached  to  a 
post  which  passes  through  the  platform,  and  there- 
by the  boat  is  steered.'     The  sails  and  rigging  are 

such  as  we  use  in  sail  boats.     It  is  a  very  exciting 
11 


122 


Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 


Southern  gate  of  the  Highlands. 


method  of  traveling,  and  greatly  enjoyed  by  young 
and  old  who  have  courage  to  try  it." 

During  this    conversation   the    steamer   had   ap- 
proached  and  passed   Donderberg  Point,  into   the 


M.4 


l.  B-BOAT   AM>   BXATBR8  OM    PKBK8KILL    BAY. 

swift  current  popularly  known  as  the  Horse  Race, 
which  runs  for  over  a  mile  through  a  narrow  chan- 
nel formed  by  the  flank  of  the  Donderberg  on  one 
side  and  of  Anthony's  Nose  on  the  other.  This 
gorge  is  the  southern  gate  of  the  Highlands,  and 
introduces  the  traveler  to  a  region  famous  in  an- 


Through  the  Highlands. 


12 


A.  goblin  region. 


cient  legends  as  the  abode  of  imps,  specters,  and 
goblins,  which  were  much  given  to  play  mischievous 
and  sometimes  malicious  pranks  with  ancient  voy- 


l'oNHKitnr.iu;  roi.\T. 


agers  on  the  river,  and  with  the  dwellers  in  these 
mysterious  parts. 

Of  course  our  party,  whose  interest  in  these  le- 
gends had  been  rendered  keen,  and  even  intense, 
by  reading  Irving's  matchless  stories,  took  occasion 
to  refresh  their  recollection  of  these  legends  while 


124         Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 

The  phantom  ship.  A  Dutch  »oblin. 

passing  through  this  gorge  by  conversing  upon  their 
details.  Instead  of  recording  their  remarks  I  will 
quote  a  few  passages  from  Irving's  story  of  "  Doiph 
Hcyliger,"  and  from  the  veracious  record  of  his  im- 
mortal Diedrich  Knickerbocker. 

Speaking  of  the  phantom  ship,  already  described 
in  these  pages,  which,  after  sailing  up  the  river,  dis- 
appeared in  the  Highlands,  Irving  says: — 

"  Since  that  time  we  have  no  authentic  accounts 
of  her,  though  it  is  said  she  still  haunts  the  High- 
lands, and  cruises  about  Point-no-Point.  People 
who  live  along  the  river  insist  that  they  sometimes 
see  her  in  summer  moonlight  ;  that  in  a  deep,  still 
midnight  they  have  heard  the  chant  of  her  crew  as 
if  heaving  the  lead  ;  but  sights  and  sounds  are  so 
deceptive  along  the  mountainous  shores,  and  about 
the  wide  bays  and  long  reaches  of  this  great  river, 
that  I  confess  I  have  very  strong  doubts  upon  the 
subject. 

"It  is  certain,  nevertheless,  that  strange  things 
have  been  seen  in  these  Highlands  in  storms,  which 
are  considered  as  connected  with  the  old  story  of 
the  ship.  The  captains  of  the  river  craft  talk  of  a 
little  bulbous-bottomed  Dutch  goblin,  in  trunk-hose 
and  sugar-loafed  hat,  with  a  speaking-trumpet  in 
his  hand,  which,  they  say,  keeps  about  the-  Dondcr- 
berg.     They  declare   that    they   have  heard   him   in 


Through  the  Highlands.  125 

'blin's  gale.  The  Heer's  hat. 

stDrmy  weather,  in  the  midst  of  the  turmoil,  giving 
orders  in  low  Dutch  for  the  piping  up  of  a  fresh 
gust  of  wind,  or  the  rattling  off  of  another  thunder- 
clap. That  sometimes  he  has  been  seen  surround- 
ed by  a  crew  of  little  imps  in  broad  breeches  and 
short  doublets ;  tumbling  head  over  heels  in  the 
rack  and  mist,  and  playing  a  thousand  gambols  in 
the  air;  or  buzzing,  like  a  swarm  of  flies,  about 
Anthony's  Nose  ;  and  that  at  such  times  the  hurry- 
scurry  of  the  storm  was  always  greatest.  One  time 
a  sloop  in  passing  by  the  Donderberg  was  overtaken 
by  a  thunder-gust  that  came  sweeping  round  the 
mountain,  and  seemed  to  burst  just  over  the  vessel. 
Though  tight  and  well  ballasted  she  labored  dread- 
fully, and  the  water  came  over  the  gunwale.  All 
the  crew  were  amazed  when  it  was  discovered  that 
there  was  a  little  white  sugar-loaf  hat  on  the  mast- 
head, known  at  once  as  the  hat  of  the  Heer  of  the 
Donderberg.  Nobody,  however,  dared  to  climb  to 
the  mast-head  and  get  rid  of  this  terrible  hat.  The 
sloop  continued  laboring  and  rocking  as  if  she 
v  ould  have  rolled  her  mast  overboard,  and  seemed 
in  continual  danger  either  of  upsetting  or  running 
on  shore.  In  this  way  she  drove  quite  through  the 
Highlands,  until  she  had  passed  Pollopel's  Island, 
where,  it  is  said,  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Donderberg 

potentate  ceases.     No  sooner  had  she  passed  this 
11* 


126        Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 

The  horse-shoe  on  the  mast.  Doing  homage  to  the  goblin. 

bourne  than  the  little  hat  spun  up  into  the  air  like 
a  top,  whirled  up  all  the  clouds  into  a  vortex,  and 
hurried  them  back  to  the  summit  of  the  Donder- 
berg,  while  the  sloop  righted  herself  and  sailed  on 
as  quietly  as  if  on  a  mill-pond.  Nothing  saved  her 
from  utter  wreck  but  the  fortunate  circumstance  of 
having  a  horse-shoe  nailed  against  the  mast ;  a  wise 
precaution  against  evil  spirits,  since  adopted  by  all 
Dutch  captains  that  navigate  this  haunted  river. 

"  There  is  another  story  told  of  this  foul  weather 
urchin  by  Skipper  Daniel  Ouslesticker,  of  Fishkill, 
who  was  never  known  to  tell  a  lie.  Me  declared 
that  in  a  severe  squall  he  saw  him  seated  astride  of 
his  bowsprit,  riding  the  sloop  ashore,  full  butt  against 
Anthony's  Nose;  and  that  he  was  exorcised  by 
Dominie  Van  Geisen,  of  Esopus,  who  happened  to 
be  on  board,  and  who  sang  the  hymn  of  St.  Nich- 
olas, whereupon  the  goblin  threw  himself  up  in  the 
air  like  a  ball,  and  went  off  in  a  whirlwind,  carrying 
away  with  him  the  nightcap  of  the  dominie's  wife, 
which  was  discovered  the  next'  Sunday  morning 
hanging  on  the  weather-cock  of  Esopus  church 
steeple,  at  least  forty  miles  off.     Several  events  of 

this  kind   having  taken   place,   the   regular  skippers, 

for  a  long  time,  did  not  venture  to  pass  the  Donder- 
berg  without  lowering  their  peaks  out  of  homage 
to  the  I  leer  of  the  mountains,  and  it   was  observed 


Through  the  Highlands.  127 

The  mother  of  superstition. 

that  all  such  as  paid  this  tribute  of  respect  were 
suffered  to  pass  unmolested." 

"  Do  you  suppose,  uncle,  that  any  body  ever  seri- 
ously believed  in  such  nonsense?"  asked  Edith, 
when  Arthur  had  finished  the  relation  of  these 
legends. 

"  Ignorance  is  the  mother  of  many  superstitions, 
my  dear,  and  many  of  the  Dutch  were  very  ignorant. 
That  class,  no  doubt,  believed  in  some  such  weird 
stories,  but  intelligent  people  regarded  them  as  we 
do,  though,  in  those  days,  many  even  of  this  class 
believed  in  specters,  wizards,  and  witches.  But  we 
must  not  lose  sight  of  the  rare  scenery  of  these  re- 
markable waters  while  we  are  talking  about  their 
legends." 

The  colonel  then  called  their  attention  to  a  steep 
valley  lying  between  Anthony's  Nose  and  another 
almost  equally  lofty  height  half  a  mile  below  it.  He 
told  them  that  a  wild  stream,  known  as  the  Brocket! 
Kill,  or  Broken  Creek,  because  seen  only  in  bits  be- 
tween the  rocks  and  shrubs,  runs  down  that  rude 
valley,  forming  in  rainy  weather  a  dashing  torrent, 
and  in  dry  weather  a  series  of  charming  cascades. 

"  But  why  do  they  call  that  bluff  Anthony's  Nose, 
uncle?"  inquired  Jennie.  "I  don't  see  anything 
like  a  nose  in  its  form." 

"  Let  me  tell  you  what  Diedrich  Knickerbocker 


28 


Summer  Days  ox  the  Hudson. 


Anthony's  Nose. 


says  about  it,  Miss  Jennie,"  replied  Arthur,  in  obe- 
dience to  a  nod  from  the  colonel.  Then  opening  a 
copy  of  Diedrich's  history,  he  read  as  follows: — 


Through  the  Highlands.  129 

How  a  reflected  sunbeam  killed  a  sturgeon. 

"  It  must  be  known  that  the  nose  of  Anthony, 
the  trumpeter,*  was  of  a  very  lusty  size,  strutting 
boldly  from  his  countenance  like  a  mountain  of 
Golconda,  being  sumptuously  bedecked  with  rubies 
and  other  precious  stones — the  true  regalia  of  a 
king  of  good  fellows,  which  jolly  Bacchus  grants  to 
all  who  bouse  it  heartily  at  the  flagon.  Now  thus 
it.  happened  that,  bright  and  early  in  the  morning, 
the  good  Anthony,  having  washed  his  burly  visage, 
was  leaning  over  the  quarter  railing  of  the  galley 
contemplating  it  in  the  glassy  wave  below.  Just  at 
this  moment  the  illustrious  sun,  breaking  in  all  his 
splendor  from  behind  one  of  the  high  bluffs  of  the 
Highlands,  did  dart  one  of  his  most  potent  beams 
full  upon  the  refulgent  nose  of  the  sounder  of  brass, 
the  reflection  of  which  shot  straightway  down,  hiss- 
ing hot,  into  the  water,  and  killed  a  mighty  stur- 
geon that  was  sporting  beside  the  vessel.  This 
huge  monster  being,  with  infinite  labor,  hoisted  on 
board,  furnished  a  luxurious  repast  for  all  the  crew, 
being  accounted  of  excellent  flavor,  excepting  about 
the  wound,  where  it  smacked  a  little  of  brimstone ; 
and  this,  on  my  veracity,  was  the  first  time  that  ever 
sturgeon  was  eaten  in  these  parts  by  Christian  peo- 
ple. When  this  astonishing  miracle  came  to  be  made 
known  to  Peter  Stuyvesant,  and  that  he  tasted  of 

*  Anthony  Van  Corlaer  was  trumpeter  to  Governor  Stuyvesant. 
6* 


130 


Summer  Days  ox  the  Hudson. 


A  ludicrous  legend. 


the  unknown  fish,  he,  as  may  well  be  supposed,  mar- 
veled exceedingly,  and  as  a  monument  thereof,  he 
gave  the  name  of  Anthony's  Nose  to  a  stout  prom- 


ANTHONY  8  NOSE  AND  THE  BUGAB  LOAF. 


ontory  in  the  neighborhood,  and  it  has  continued  to 
be  called  Anthony's  Nose  ever  since  that  time." 

A  hearty  laugh  greeted  the  reader  as  he  finished 
this  veracious  story,  after  which  the  colonel  re- 
marked : — 

"  Lei  us  pass  from  a  ludicrous  legend  to  a  painful 


Through  the  Highlands. 


131 


A  painful  fact. 


Bloody  Pond. 


fact.  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  our  patriot 
fathers  built  two  posts  early  in  the  war,  named 
Montgomery  and  Clinton.     To  capture  these  forts 


LAKE    SINXIPINK. 


the  British  marched,  three  thousand  strong,  from 
Stony  Point  across  the  mountains  to  the  rear  of  the 
forts.  There  is  a  lovely  little  lake  behind  the  site 
of  those  forts,  named  Lake  Sinnipink,  or  Bloody 
Pond,  on  the  banks  of  which  a  skirmish  took  place 
that  cost  the  patriots  many  lives.     The  forts  were 


132         Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 

The  patriot's  reward.  A  charming  creek. 

both  captured  with  the  loss  of  two  hundred  and 
fifty  of  their  six  hundred  brave  defenders." 

"  Poor  fellows!"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Stuart.  "How 
little  we  think  of  the  fearful  price  with  which  our 
liberties  were  purchased." 

"Too  true,  too  true,"  replied  the  colonel,  shrug- 
ging his  shoulders.  "  Society  is  a  thoughtless  mon- 
ster, always  ready  to  accept  the  sacrifice  of  its  best 
sons,  but  rarely  grateful  enough  to  reward  them  for 
their  heroism.  But  then,  you  know,  the  genuine  pa- 
triot finds  his  reward  in  the  consciousness  that  he  has 
done  his  duty.  But  a  truce  to  moralizing.  There 
is  a  charming  creek  lying  between  and  back  of  the 
sites  of  those  old  forts.  It  has  high,  steep  banks,  one 
of  which  is  covered  with  trees.  Its  mouth  is  broad 
and  deep,  while,  only  half  a  mile  back,  it  is  a  wild 
mountain  torrent,  rushing  through  romantic  ravines 
into  the  calm  river  below.  Were  we  making  an  ar- 
tist's tour  we  should  certainly  go  ashore  to  examine 
and  enjoy  it.     It  is  named  Montgomery  Creek." 

While  the  steamer  was  plowing  her  way  past  the 
Sugar  Loaf  Mountain,  Miss  Jennie,  who  had,  with 
her  usual  restlessness,  been  wandering  round  the 
promenade  deck,  returned  to  her  part}'  with  great 
animation  in  speech  and  manner,  to  say, — ■ 

"  0,  mamma,  what  do  you  think  those  German 
gentlemen  said  just  now?" 


Through  the  Highlands. 


133 


Jennie  and  the  Germans. 


FALLS    IX    .MONTGOMERY    CREEK. 


Mrs.  Stuart  and  the  others  looked  in  the  direction 

indicated  by  a  movement  of  the  young  lady's  head, 

and  saw  a  group  of  three  bearded  and  mustached 

gentlemen,    unmistakably    German    in    aspect    and 
12 


134        Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 

A  German  compliment  to  the  Hudson. 

manners.    After  glancing  at  them  a  moment  or  two, 
the  colonel  asked, — 

"Well,  Miss  Jennie,  what  did  they  say?" 
"  One  of  them  said,  '  De  scenery  of  de  Hudson  ish 
finer  dan  de  scenery  of  de  Rhine ; '  and  the  others 
replied,  '  Dat  ish  so,  dat  ish  so.'  " 

They  all  laughed  at  Jennie's  poor  attempt  to 
imitate  the  broken  English  of  their  German  fellow- 
travelers,  and  the  colonel  remarked  : — 

"That  confession  was  the  highest  compliment  a 
German   could   pay  to   our   noble  river.     Germans 

almost  worship  the 
Rhine.  But  we  must 
not  overlook  the  his- 
toric points  around 
—,j         /.":  ,  "      us.     Yonder,  at  the 

^■gP^  base  of  the  Sugar 
Loaf,  we  see  Beverly 
Dock,  from  which 
the  traitor,  Arnold,  entered  his  barge  when  he  fled 
from  Beverly  House,  the  scene  of  his  treacherous 
meditations,  after  learning  that  Andre  had  been 
captured.  Telling  his  six  oarsmen  that  his  errand 
was  of  great  importance,  he  bade  them  row  down 
stream  as  swiftly  as  possible,  promising  them  an 
ample  supply  of  rum  as  a  reward  for  their  exertion. 
Little  dreaming  that  they  were  obeying  the  bidding 


Through  the  Highlands. 


The  basest  American.  Buttermilk  Falls. 

of  the  meanest  of  traitors,  they  put  forth  their  ut- 
most strength,  and  rowed  him  to  the  "Vulture" 
with  the  speed  of  a  bird.  On  her  deck  he  was  safe 
from  the  halter  he  had  merited,  but,  with  charac- 
teristic meanness,  he  gave  up  his  boatmen  as  pris- 
oners !  The  British  commander  at  New  York  had 
a  higher  sense  of  honor,  and  set  them  at  liberty  on 
being  made  acquainted  with  the  facts." 

"  I  think  that  Benedict  Arnold  was  the  basest 
man  America  ever  produced,"  observed  Clarence 
with  a  frown  so  dark  that  his  friends  smiled  in  ap- 
proval of  the  earnestness  of  the  detestation  it  was 
meant  to  express. 

Pointing  to  the  west  side  of  the  river,  the  colonel 
said,  "  Yonder  is  Buttermilk  Falls,  so  named  because 
the  water,  in  tumbling  over  several  lofty  and  inclined 
ledges,  is  so  broken  and  foamy  as  to  become  daz- 
zlingly  white.  The  scenery  of  the  stream,  and  of  the 
country  around  it,  though  rough,  is  very  beautiful. 
There  is  a  village  above  the  Falls,  and  some  pretty 
villas,  as  you  see,  on  the  high  bank  of  the  river." 

The  boat  was  now  in  sight  of  West  Point,  fifty- 
two  miles  from  New  York,  and  the  attention  of  our 
whole  party  was  engaged  in  listening  to  the  colonel 
as  he  pointed  out  the  numerous  beauties  and  at- 
tractions of  the  striking  scenery  around  them.  The 
spurs  of  the  mountains  abutting  on  the  river  in  bold 


n6        Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson 


A  picture  of  unrivaled  beauty. 


precipices,  rising  in  some  places  one  thousand  feet 
in  height — the  luxuriant  foliage  with  which  they  are 
clothed — the  countless  sloops  with  their  large  white 
sails,  tackincf  and  scudding  like  flocks  of  wild  sea- 


—    .. 


PPPEB   0  ^80  mm  s,    i;i  i  n  i:\111  K    kai.i 


birds  on  the  serpentine  channel  and  before  the  baf- 
fling winds — formed  a  picture  of  unrivaled  beauty. 

"  I  never  enjoyed  this  scenery  before  as  I  do  to- 
day," observed   Mrs.   Stuart  as  the   boat  slackened 


Through  the  Highlands.  137 

A  pretty  good  showman.  Afternoon  rambles. 

her  speed  when  approaching  Cozzens'  Dock,  a  mile 
below  West  Point. 

"That's  because  you  never  had  uncle  with  you 
to  point  out  its  beautiful  objects,  mamma,"  replied 
Edith. 

"  You  think  I  am  a  pretty  good  showman,  then  ; 
do  you,  Edith?"  said  the  colonel,  smiling  and  play- 
fully pulling  one  of  his  niece's  ringlets. 

"  All  ashore  !  "  shouted  the  captain. 

A  few  minutes  sufficed  them  to  cross  the  gang- 
plank and  to  see  their  baggage  properly  cared  for. 
Declining  to  ride,  because  they  wished  to  enjoy  the 
picturesque  features  of  the  winding  road  leading  to 
the  hotel,  they  proceeded  leisurely  on  foot.  Their 
estimate  of  its  attractions  was  frequently  expressed 
in  such  exclamations  as  the  following : — 

"  How  romantic  !  "  "  What  a  lovely  glimpse  of 
the  river  we  get  from  this  point ! "  "  How  delight- 
ful this  nook  is!"  "I'm  glad  we  walked  up  this 
hill.  We  should  have  missed  a  good  deal  if  we  had 
come  up  in  the  'bus,"  etc.,  etc. 

After  reaching  the  hotel  they  spent  some  time 
resting  and  taking  needed  refreshments.  The  re- 
mainder of  the  day  was  occupied  by  the  young 
folks  in  desultory  rambling  round  the  charming 
walks  which  abound  in  the  vicinity  of  the  hotel; 

the   colonel   and   his   sister  preferring  seats  on  the 
12* 


38         Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 


Fantastic  aspects  of  river  and  mountains. 


I  1 1  K    ROAD    l  i:>  •  M    >  OZZI  N8'    DO<  K, 


piazza,  from  which  the  river  and  the  mountains 
could  be  viewed  in  the  various  fantastic  aspects 
'rivcn    them    by   the    changes   of   light   and    shade, 


Through  the  Highlands.  139 


An  unfounded  suspicion. 


caused  by  the  many-tinted  clouds  and  the  descend- 
ing sun.  When,  toward  dusk,  the  young  people 
came  in,  the  colonel  observed  that  Arthur  and  Jennie 
lagged  behind  Edith  and  Clarence,  and  appeared  to 
be  engaged  in  conversation  which  deeply  interested 
them.  When  they  saw  that  he  was  watching  them 
they  both  blushed  deeply.  Jennie  suddenly  dropped 
her  companion's  arm  and  ran  to  her  room.  Arthur 
approached  the  colonel,  who  touched  his  arm  and 
whispered  : — 

"  Remember,  my  boy,  I  trust  your  honor." 
Arthur  was  vexed.  He  saw  that  his  uncle  sus- 
pected him  of  having  renewed  his  courtship  of  Miss 
Jennie.  He  knew  the  suspicion,  though  not  unjust 
under  the  circumstances,  was  nevertheless  unmer- 
ited in  fact.  He  and  Jennie  had  been  careful  to 
abstain  from  a  repetition  of  the  folly  they  had  com- 
mitted at  Sunnyside,  though,  perhaps,  they  had 
been  tempting  each  other  to  it  by  separating  them- 
selves too  widely  from  their  companions.  A  little 
reflection  led  the  lad  to  resolve  that  he  would  deal 
honorably  with  his  adopted  father  and  treat  Jennie 
as  a  sister,  at  least  for  the  present. 


40 


Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson 


Days  at  West  Point. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

AT    WEST    POINT. 

UR  party  spent  several  days  at  West  Point. 
.  They  found  ample  occupation  and  experi- 
enced rare  delight  in  visiting  its  varied  points  of 
interest,  and  talking  over  its  deeply  interesting  his- 
torical associations.  Our  limited  space  forbids  us 
to  give  more  than  brief  notes  of  their  rambles. 
One  of  these  was  to  the  Parade  Ground  of  the 


At  West  Point.  141 


West  Point  Cadets.  Edith's  protest. 


Military  Academy  and  its  numerous  buildings.  The 
colonel's  military  standing  procured  them  excep- 
tional opportunities  to  see  every  thing  worth  look- 
ing at.  They  explored  the  grounds,  witnessed  the 
drill  of  the  cadets,  visited  the  several  barracks,  the 
academy,  the  library,  the  laboratory,  the  officers' 
quarters,  and  other  edifices.  They  gleaned  not  a 
little  information  about  the  cadets,  who  are  selected 
from  the  Congressional  Districts  throughout  the 
whole  country,  and  taught  every  thing  necessary 
to  a  thorough  understanding  of  the  principles  of 
military  science  free  of  cost  to  themselves,  but 
under  an  agreement  that  they  will  serve  at  least 
four  years  in  our  army  unless  earlier  discharged  by 
the  authorities. 

"  I  don't  care  !"  exclaimed  Edith  as  they  sat  rest- 
ing on  the  piazza  of  one  of  the  professor's  houses. 
"  This  may  all  be  very  nice :  I  dare  say  it  is:  but  I 
don't  like  it.  It  suggests  bloodshed,  and  misery, 
and  death." 

The  colonel  smiled  complacently  on  hearing  this 
somewhat  impassioned  speech  from  the  lips  of  the 
earnest,  thoughtful  girl,  and  replied, — 

"That  remark  is  very  creditable  to  your  heart, 
my  dear;  but  on  so  great  a  question  as  preparing 
the  nation  for  defending  itself  against  possible  war, 
we  must  let  the  head  decide.     For  this  country  to 


142         Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 

Arthur's  invitation.  The  big  chain. 

neglect  all  military  and  naval  provision  would  be  to 
invite  attack  from  foreign  nations — " 

"  Come  and  see  the  big  chain !  It  is  in  the  Artil- 
lery Laboratory,"  cried  Arthur,  running  up  to  the 
piazza  and  interrupting  the  colonel. 

This  big  chain,  which,  during  the  Revolutionary 
war,  was  stretched  across  the  river  at  West  Point, 
had  already  been  the  subject  of  conversation.  Ar- 
thur's announcement,  therefore,  led  the  young  ladies 
to  jump  up  somewhat  abruptly,  and  prepare  to  fol- 
low him  to  the  spot  indicated.  The  colonel  and 
Mrs.  Stuart  preferring  to  remain  where  they  were, 
the  young  people  proceeded  to  the  laboratory  by 
themselves. 

They  found  the  chain,  or  portions  of  it,  stretched 
round  a  large  brass  mortar,  captured  by  the  daring 
Wayne  at  Stony  Point,  and  two  small  ones  taken 
from  the  unfortunate  Burgoync  at  Saratoga. 

"  What  monster  links ! "  cried  Arthur,  striking 
the  chain  with  his  cane.  "  They  must  be  at  least 
two  feet  long." 

"  They  are  made  of  iron  two  and  a  half  inches 
square,"  added  Clarence,  applying  a  little  pocket 
rule  to  one  of  the  links. 

"And  each  link  weighs  about  one  hundred  and 
forty  pounds,"  said  their  attendant. 

11  Did  it  do  any  good?"  asked  Edith. 


At  West  Point. 


143 


The  home  where  brave  men  sleep 


"It  was  stretched  across  the  river  from  West 
Point  to  Constitution  Island  early  in  the  war,  to 
prevent  the  British  fleet  ascending  the  river.     But 


HP 


THE   CHEAT    CHAIN. 


it  was  never  tested.     The   English  found  work  for 
their  ships  elsewhere." 

Just  as  Clarence  concluded  this  explanation,  the 
colonel  made  his  appearance  and  proposed  a  final 
ramble  for  the  day  to  the  cemetery.  The  young 
people  readily  consented,  and,  after  calling  at  the 
professor's  for  Mrs.  Stuart,  proceeded  to  the  quiet, 
shaded  retreat  where  many  brave  men  sleep.  As 
they  paused  among  the  graves,  the  colonel  quoted, 
sadly  enough,  the  following  lines: — 


1^4 


Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 


In  the  cemetery. 


Here  sleep  brave  men  who  in  the  deadly  quarrel 

Fought  for  their  country,  and  their  life-blood  poured 
Above  whose  dust  she  carves  the  deathless  laurel, 

Wreathing  the  victor's  sword: 
And  here  the  young  cadet,  in  manly  beauty, 

Borne  from  the  tents  which  skirt  those  rocky  banks, 
Call'd  from  life's  daily  drill  and  perilous  duty 

To  these  unbroken  ranks." 


cm. I)    si'lilM..    FROM    IMI     CI  Ml   II  KY. 


The  Cadets'  Monument,  with  its  castle  form  and 
emblems  of  war,  stood  directly  before  them.  They 
read  the  names  of  the  deceased  officers  and  cadets 
inscribed  upon  it,  and  then,  ascending  the  hill  near 
it,  obtained  a  beautiful  view  of  the  river  and  of  the 
picturesque  village  of  Cold  Spring  on  the  opposite 
shore. 


At  West  Point.  145 


The  ruins  of  Fort  Putnam. 


"  How  beautifully  that  village  lies  nestled  at  the 
foot  of  those  rugged  hills ! "  exclaimed  Mrs.  Stuart. 


It  has  a  most  charminc  situation 


ft 


"  Very.  We  will  cross  the  river  and  see  it  before 
we  leave  West  Point,"  replied  the  colonel.  "  But 
to-day  let  us  enjoy  this  distant  view,  and  also  yon- 
der one,  toward  the  south,  of  Camp  Town,  West 
Point,  and  the  noble  heights  beyond." 

On  another  day  our  party  visited  the  ruins  of 
Fort  Putnam,  the  view  from  which  they  found  to 
be  exceedingly  grand.  While  they  were  seated  on 
this  lofty  height  the  colonel  pointed  out  the  strength 
of  this  post,  which  was  regarded  as  the  Gibraltar  of 
America,  and  told  them  that  had  Arnold  succeeded 
in  the  traitorous  scheme  of  putting  it  into  the 
hands  of  the  British  our  patriot  fathers  would  prob- 
ably have  failed  in  their  struggle  for  independence. 
Among  other  incidents  he  related  one  of  very  deep 
interest,  concerning  Washington  when  he  had  his 
head-quarters  in  the  neighborhood  of  West  Point. 
He  took  it,  he  said,  from  a  volume  entitled  "  Ro- 
mance of  the  Revolution  :  " — - 

"The  sun  had  just  passed  its  meridian,  when 
an  American  officer  was  seen  slowly  wending  his 
way  along  one  of  the  less  frequented  roads  up  the 
mountain,  in  the  vicinity  of  West  Point,  where  the 
American   army  was   then    stationed.     The   officer 

lo 


146 


Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 


A  solitary  rider  on  the  mountain. 


was  unaccompanied,  and  as  the  horse  with  slow  and 
measured  tread  moved  along  the  road,  with  the 
slackened  rein  hanging  loose  upon  his  neck,  his 
rider  seemed  buried  in  a  deep  reverie.     The  scene 


r-*--- -"  - 


m 


around  was  one  of  peculiar  beauty;  the  far  mount- 
ains heaped  up,  one  above  another,  against  tin- 
horizon,  and  at  his  feet  the  Hudson  sweeping  on 
with  a  sweet  and  placid  look.     But  the  thoughts  of 


At  West  Point.  147 


Washington  visiting  a  suspected  man. 


the  traveler  were  turned  inward,  and  his  eyes  heed- 
ed not  the  pageant  before  them,  but  seemed  rather 
to  be  reading  the  dark  and  obscure  future,  or  try- 
ing to  penetrate  the  mysteries  which  surrounded 
the  present.  His  thoughts,  however,  were  apparent- 
ly undisturbed — only  solemn  and  deep.  It  would 
have  been  impossible  for  any  one  to  have  looked 
upon  his  calm,  thoughtful  brow,  the  majestic,  but 
benevolent  expression  of  his  countenance,  the  firm 
contour,  though  sweet  compression  of  his  lips,  the 
mild,  penetrating  glance  of  his  eye,  and  the  noble 
proportions  of  his  frame,  without  detecting  the 
presence  of  the  great  WASHINGTON.  Presently  he 
drew  up  before  a  mansion  on  the  road,  dismounted, 
and  approached  the  house.  Almost  immediately 
a  door  was  thrown  open,  and  an  aged  gentleman 
in  a  civilian's  dress  rushed  forth  and  greeted  the 
comer  with  many,  seemingly,  earnest  protestations 
of  welcome. 

"  The  family  in  which  Washington,  on  this  occa- 
sion, was  received,  was  one  he  had  frequently  been 
in  the  habit  of  visiting.  During  the  stay  of  the 
aimy  at  West  Point  he  often  dined  with  its  mem- 
bers, and  in  its  head  he  had  at  first  reposed  confi- 
dence and  friendship.  But  many  suspicions  of  his 
honesty  were  whispered  about,  and  in  some  quar- 
ters  he   was   openly  accused    of  treachery  to    the 


148        Summer  Days  ox  the  Hudson. 

A  calm  guest  A  nervous  liost. 


American  cause.  To  these  suspicions  Washington 
would  not  heed,  but  having  been  invited  to  dine 
with  him  on  a  certain  day  and  at  a  certain  hour, 
and  this  invitation  being  pressed  with  so  much  over- 
earnestness,  and  accompanied  with  an  insinuation 
that  his  appearance  with  a  guard  was  an  indication 
of  his  want  of  confidence  in  his  friend's  fidelity,  and 
urged  to  give  a  proof  of  his  unchanged  belief  in  his 
honesty  by  coming  unattended  to  partake  with  him 
of  a  private  dinner,  Washington's  suspicions  at  last 
became  fully  aroused,  and  he  resolved,  by  accepting 
the  invitation,  to  prove  at  once  the  truth  or  false- 
hood of  the  suspicions  entertained  against  him.  It 
was  to  fulfill  this  engagement  that  Washington,  on 
the  occasion  we  have  described,  proceeded  to  the 
residence  of  his  suspected  friend. 

"  The  time  appointed  for  the  dinner  was  two 
o'clock,  but  it  was  not  later  than  one  when  Wash- 
ington dismounted  at  the  door  of  his  host.  He 
had  an  especial  object  in  this  early  arrival.  The 
host  proposed  to  occupy  the  interim  before  dinner 
by  a  walk  on  the  piazza.  Here  conversation  occu- 
pied the  time,  and  it  soon  became  apparent  to  the 
chief  that  his  host's  manner  was  exceedingly  nerv- 
ous and  excitable.  Without  revealing  this  knowl- 
edge, Washington  continued  the  discourse,  and, 
while  he  carefully  avoided  betraying  his  suspicions, 


At  West  Point.  149 


A  traitor's  confusion.  Dragoons. 


he  skillfully  led  the  conversation  to  such  subjects 
as  would  be  most  likely  to  cause  his  companion 
to  betray  his  agitation.  So  poor  an  actor  was  he, 
and  so  often  was  his  conscience  probed  by  the  ap- 
parently innocent  remarks  of  the  commander-in- 
chief,  that  his  nervousness  of  manner  became  so 
marked  as  to  give  the  greatest  pain  to  Washington 
at  this  proof  of  the  infidelity  of  one  in  whom  he 
had  once  reposed  unlimited  confidence. 

"  The  American  commander,  in  commenting  up- 
on the  different  beauties  of  the  landscape  that  sur- 
rounded them,  pointed  out  the  spot  where  lay  the 
encampment  of  the  enemy,  at  the  same  time  re- 
marking upon  the  extraordinary  lack  of  principle 
that  could  induce  men  of  American  birth  to  forego 
the  interests  of  their  country,  and  every  considera- 
tion of  holy  patriotism,  to  enroll  themselves  among 
their  country's  invaders  for  no  other  temptation 
than  a  little  glittering  gold.  Before  the  penetra- 
ting look  which  Washington  fixed  upon  him  while 
making  these  remarks  the  guilty  traitor  quailed, 
but  at  this  juncture  he  was  relieved  by  the  sound 
of  approaching  horses,  and  as  both  guest  and  host 
turned  to  the  direction  whence  the  sound  proceed- 
ed, a  company  of  dragoons  in  British  uniforms  ap- 
peared upon  the  brow  of  the  hill,  galloping  rapidly 
along  the  road  toward  the  house. 


13* 


150        Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 

A  traitor  trapped. 

"  '  Bless  me,  sir  ! '  exclaimed  Washington  ;  '  what 
cavalry  are  these  approaching  the  house?' 

"'A  party  of  British  light-horse,'  rejoined  his 
trembling  host,  '  who  mean  no  harm,  but  are  mere- 
ly sent  for  my  protection  ! ' 

"  '  British  horse  sent  here  while  I  am  your  guest  ? ' 
said  Washington  with  startling  sternness,  as  he 
turned  upon  his  host  with  an  air  of  command  that 
awed,  and  caused  to  quail,  the  little  soul  of  the  be- 
trayer before  the  mighty  spirit  that  he  had  aroused. 
'What  does  this  mean,  sir?'  continued  Washing- 
ton, as  a  terrible  look  gathered  upon  his  brow. 

"By  this  time  the  troops  had  arrived,  and  they 
were  seen  dismounting  from  their  horses.  This 
gave  courage  to  the  trembling  traitor. 

"  '  General,'  said  he,  approaching  his  guest,  '  Gen- 
eral, you  are  my  prisoner.' 

"  '  I  believe  not,'  replied  Washington,  his  man- 
ner having  regained  its  former  calmness,  '  but,  sir, 
I  know  that  you  are  mine!  Officer,  arrest  this 
traitor! ' 

"  In  bewildering  consternation  the  treacherous 
hypocrite  looked  from  Washington  to  the  men; 
the  one  an  American  officer,  the  others  seemingly 
British  soldiers.  But  the  puzzle  was  soon  solved. 
Washington  had  ordered  a  company  of  Americans 
to   disguise   themselves   as    British    cavalry,   and   to 


At  West  Point.  151 


A  generous  act.  The  source  of  baseness. 

arrive  at  the  mansion  designated  at  a  quarter  before 
two,  by  which  means  he  would  be  enabled  to  dis- 
cover the  innocence  or  guilt  of  the  suspected  person. 
The  issue  proved  his  suspicions  were  well  founded, 
and  the  mode  he  adopted  for  detecting  the  plot 
admirably  displayed  his  great  sagacity.  The  false 
friend  was  handed  over  to  the  keeping  of  the  sol- 
diers, and  conducted  to  the  American  camp  as  a 
prisoner.  He  afterward  confessed  that  he  had  been 
offered  a  large  sum  to  betray  Washington  into  the 
hands  of  the  English,  and  at  the  hour  of  two  a 
party  of  British  horse  would  have  surrounded  the 
house  and  captured  the  American  chief.  At  first, 
Washington  meditated  making  a  severe  example  of 
the  man  ;  but  he  yielded  to  the  earnest  solicitations 
of  his  family,  and  pardoned  him." 

"  That  was  a  very  narrow  escape  for  Washing- 
ton ; "  observed  Mrs.  Stuart,  "  but  isn't  it  singular 
that  so  much  treason  could  have  found  a  home  in 
the  free  air  of  these  grand  old  mountains,  which 
seem  made  to  be  the  nurseries  of  free  and  honest 
souls?" 

"  Baseness  is  not  born  in  either  mountains  or  val- 
leys," replied  the  colonel,  "  but  in  human  hearts 
devoted  to  selfishness.  Let  us  now  turn  our  eyes 
from  the  deeds  of  traitors,  and  view  the  works  of  the 
Creator  which  rise  so  grandly  every-where  around 


152         Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 

A  grand  view.  At  Cold  Spring. 

us  in  this  enchanted  valley.  At  our  feet  is  the 
promontory  of  West  Point,  dotted  with  the  Acad- 
emy buildings.  To  the  left,  lying  on  the  east  side 
of  the  river,  is  Constitution  Island,  once  called 
Martelaer's  Rock,  and  now  sometimes  spoken  of  as 
Warner's  Island,  after  those  graceful  writers,  the 
Misses  Warner,  to  whom  it  belongs.  Beyond  the 
island,  to  the  eastward,  Bull  Hill,  or  Mount  Taurus, 
as  people  of  classical  taste  prefer  to  call  it,  and 
Breakneck  Hill,  rear  their  rugged  heads.  On  the 
west  side  of  the  river  is  the  old  Crow  Nest.  In 
short,  there  is  no  grander  view  on  the  Hudson  than 
this — but  the  sun  is  getting  low  and  we  must  hasten 
to  our  hotel.  To-morrow  we  will  cross  the  river 
in  a  boat  to  Cold  Spring." 

Our  party  now  descended  by  a  rude,  broken  path 
to  the  highway,  and  thence  to  the  hotel  making 
many  sprightly  comments  on  the  events  of  the  day, 
mingled  with  remarks  on  their  anticipated  trip  to 
Cold  Spring. 

The  next  day  proving  as  fine  as  they  could  desire 
they  sailed  across  the  river  to  that  village,  which 
they  found  nestling  at  the  foot  of  Mount  Taurus, 
and  reposing  upon  its  granite  bosom.  Not  far  from 
the  village  they  found  a  small  stream  in  a  lovely 
sequestered  valley,  called  Indian  Brook-,  with  which 
thc-\'    were    so    delighted    that    after    rambling    and 


At  West  Point. 


153 


Improvising  a  picnic. 


lounging  among  its  rocks,  gathering  ferns,  mosses, 
and  lichens,  they  concluded  to  improvise  a  picnic, 
from  the  contents  of  their  lunch-baskets,  under  the 


INDIAN    BROOK. 


cool  shade  of  its  numerous  trees.  After  lunch 
Clarence  grew  sentimental,  and  exclaimed  with  rap- 
ture in  his  tones, — 

"This  is  lovely!     It  is  fairy-land!     We  may  say 
of  it  as  a  poet  has  written  of  another  stream  : — 


154        Summer  Days  ox  the  Hudson. 

Jennie's  verbal  skirmish  with  Clarence. 

"  A  fresh,  damp  sweetness  fills  the  scene, 

From  dripping  leaf  and  moistened  earth  ; 

The  odor  of  the  winter-green 

Floats  on  the  airs  that  now  have  birth  ; 

Plashes  and  air-bells  all  about 

Proclaim  the  gambols  of  the  trout, 

And  calling  bush  and  answering  tree 

Echo  with  woodland  melody." 

"  That's  very  pretty,  Clarence,"  said  Jennie,  "  only, 
happily  for  us,  the  leaves  don't  drip,  nor  do  the 
trout  plash,  as  I  can  see,  except  in  your  poet's 
imagination." 

"The  poet  don't  say  that  the  leaves  do  drip,  only 
that  their  past  dripping  has  left  a  damp  sweetness, 
which,  I  am  sure  you  must  admit,  is  here.  And 
there !  didn't  you  hear  the  plash  of  that  trout  in 
yonder  pool? — but  the  colonel  is  calling  us.  Let 
us  go  ! " 

"  That  call  was  timely  for  you,  Jennie,"  whis- 
pered Edith  to  her  sister;  "  Clarence  had  the  best 
of  that  case." 

"  O  yes,  I  dare  say  you  think  so,"  retorted  Jennie 
with  a  pretty  pout ;  "  you  think  Clarence  is  perfect." 

Edith  bit  her  lip  and  blushed  at  this  significant 
thrust  from  her  sharp-tongued  sister,  but  meekness 
prevailed  over  pride,  and  she  made  no  reply. 

The  colonel  led  the  party  to  various  points  on 
the  slopes  of  Mount  Taurus,  from  whence  they  ob- 
tained delightful  views.     They  also  visited   Under- 


At  West  Point. 


55 


picturesque  view. 


A  glorious  vision. 


cliff,  the  lovely  summer  home  of  the  poet,  George 
P.  Morris,  the  West  Point  Foundery,  where  the  cel- 
ebrated "  Parrot  Gun  "  is  cast,  and  other  minor  points 
of  interest.     But  at  no  other  spot  did  they  obtain 


VIEW   FROM    ROSSITER'S   MANSION*. 


so  fair  a  view  as  from  the  grounds  of  the  painter 
Rossiter. 

"  How  picturesque !  "  exclaimed  Mrs.  Stuart ;  "  the 
river  from  this  spot  appears  like  a  series  of  placid 
lakes." 

"  And  from  where  I  stand,"  added  the  colonel, 
"  there  is  a  glorious  vision  between  Mount  Taurus 
and   the   Storm   King  yonder,   through  which   one 


156        Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 

a 

The  everlasting  hills.  Across  the  river. 

can  see  as  far  as  Newburgh  and  its  pleasing  sur- 
roundings." 

"  But  better  than  all,  to  my  taste,"  said  Arthur, 
"  is  the  grandeur  of  these  everlasting  hills,  which 
shut  in  the  river  except  at  that  one  point." 

Thus  each  one  pointed  out  what  most  impressed 
his  or  her  mind,  and  so  contributed  to  the  general 
enjoyment,  until  their  growing  weariness,  and  the 
flight  of  the  unresting  hours,  led  them  to  seek  their 
boat  and  to  return  across  the  river  to  their  tempo- 
rary home. 


From  West  Point  to  NcwbnrgJi.  157 

Farewell  to  West  Point  Newburgh  Bay. 


"1 


CHAPTER    IX. 

FROM  WEST  POINT  TO  NEWBURGH. 
HAD  no  idea  that  West  Point  contained  so 


^->  much  to  interest  the  tourist,"  was  the  re- 
mark of  Mrs.  Stuart  when  our  party,  having  satis- 
fied their  curiosity  at  this  place,  found  themselves 
on  board  the  steamer  on  their  way  to  Newburgh. 

All  the  others  agreed  with  her,  and  confessed  to 
a  feeling  of  sadness  at  leaving  scenes  which  had 
yielded  them  so  much  innocent  pleasure.  But  this 
emotion  was,  of  course,  transient  as  the  morning 
mist  which  was  now  disappearing  from  the  river, 
permitting  the  sun  to  gild  with  beauty  the  tall 
heads  of  the  "  Crow's  Nest  "  and  the  "  Storm  King," 
and  to  shed  a  rich  light  on  the  beautiful  vale  of 
Tempe,  which  lies  between  these  two  mountains, 
and  which  the  colonel  regretted  they  had  not  time 
to  visit.  On  the  east,  also,  they  beheld  all  the  glory 
of  Mount  Taurus  and  Beacon  Hill,  rising  between  it 
and  Fishkill. 

The  Highland  entrance  to  Newburgh  Bay  charmed 

them  exceedingly.     As  their  steamer  reached  a  good 

point  of  observation  the  colonel  said  : — ■ 
14 


i;S         Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 


First  view  of  the  Katzbergs. 


Breakneck  Mountain. 


"  Here,  in  the  far  distance,  we  get  our  first  view  of 
the  blue  peaks  of  the  Katzbergs,  sixty  miles  away. 


1IK,11I.\M>   ENTRANCE   T< 


Nearer,  we  get  a  glimpse  of  Newburgh  Bay,  with  its 
finely  situated  city  and  the  fine  country  surrounding 
it.  Yonder  little  island  is  named  Pollopel.  The 
round  hill  is  the  Little  Beacon  Hill.  Old  Break- 
neck lies  south  of  it.  Here  on  our  left  is  the  Storm 
King,  which  it  would  pay  us  to  ascend  if  we  had  the 
opportunity.  I  know  of  no  view  on  the  Hudson 
with  greater  attractions  than  the  <>nr  before  US." 

"It  seems  to  me,"  replied  Jennie,  laughing  as  she 
spoke,  "that  every  last  view  we  get  Is  the  best." 

"Breakneck    Mountain     used    to    have    a    profile 


From  West  Point  to  New  burgh.  159 

The  Turk's  face  blown  away. 

almost  as  remarkable  as  that  of  Franconia  Notch,  in 
New  Hampshire,"  said  the  colonel.     "  It  was  called 


tukk's  face,  breakneck  mountain. 


the  Turk's  Face.     It  is  said  that  an  Irish  laborer, 
while  blasting  rocks  near  by,  put  a  charge  under  it, 


i6o        Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 

The  profile's  revenge.  The  "  Culprit  Fay.* 

saying,  "  Perhaps  the  old  fellow  would  like  to  have 
his  nose  blowed."  The  powder  blew  off  the  nose  of 
the  profile,  but  the  face  had  its  revenge.  Its  de- 
stroyer was  himself  subsequently  killed  by  a  blast." 

*'  Served  him — " 

"  Jennie  !  "  exclaimed  Mrs.  Stuart,  interrupting 
her  daughter,  "  don't  put  a  human  life  in  the  scale 
with  a  freak  of  nature.  The  poor  Irishman  was  a 
child  of  ignorance,  for  which,  as  well  as  for  his  fate, 
he  was  more  to  be  pitied  than  blamed." 

"  Is  not  the  Storm  King  the  scene  of  J.  Rodman 
Drake's  beautiful  poem  of  the  '  Culprit  Fay  ? '  "  asked 
Arthur,  as  if  eager  to  change  the  conversation. 

"  Yes,"  replied  the  colonel,  "  and  I  wish  we  had 
it  with  us.  It  would  be  delightful  to  read  it  under 
the  shadow  of  the  Storm  King." 

"  I  remember  its  opening  lines,"  said  Clarence. 

"Recite  them,  please  do,  Clarence,"  said  Edith. 

To  this  request  the  young  man,  ever  ready  to 
gratify  his  favorite  cousin,  responded  by  reciting  as 
follows  : — 

"'Tis  the  middle  of  a  summer's  night, — 
The  earth  is  dark,  but  the  heavens  are  bright-; 
Naught  is  seen  in  the  vault  on  high 
But  the  moon,  and  the  stars,  and  the  cloudless  sky, 
And  the  flood  which  mils  its  milky  hue, — 
A  river  of  light  on  the  welkin  blue. 
The  moon  looks  down  on  the  old  Cro'  Nest  ; 
She  mellows  the  shades  on  his  shaggy  breast, 


From  West  Point  to  Newburgh. 


Cornwall  Landing. 


A  quotation  by  Clarence. 

And  seems  his  huge  gray  form  to  throw 

In  a  silver  eone  on  the  wave  below. 

His  sides  are  broken  by  spots  of  shade 

By  the  walnut  boughs  and  the  cedars  made  ; 

And  through  their  clustering  branches  dark 

Glimmers  and  dies  the  fire-fly's  spark  — 

Like  starry  twinkles  that  momently  break 

Through  the  rifts  of  the  gathering  tempest  rack.' 


161 


BUKNB   OFF  TI1K   8TOKM-KINU    VALLEY. 

The  recitation  of  this  fine  piece  of  poetic  descrip- 
tion was  interrupted  by  the  arrival  of  the  boat  at 
Cornwall  Landing,  where  the  colonel  called  their 
attention   to  the   sudden   contraction  of  the   river. 

Pointing  up  stream,  he  exclaimed  : — 
14* 


l52 


Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 


A  scientific  sup  position. 


A  fearful  spectacle. 


"  See  how  the  foot  of  the  Storm  King  on  the 
west  crowds  the  water  against  Breakneck  Hill  on 
the  east  !  This  is  called  the  upper  entrance  to  the 
Highlands.     Our  men  of  science  suppose  that  in  the 


UPPER    I  i  11 1    mc in  an  i 


long  ago  yon  mountains  formed  a  continuous  chain, 
and  that  the  waters  of  the  river  formed  a  vast  lake. 
which  stretched  its  placid  water-  as  far  as  Lakes 
Champlain  and  George." 

"It  must  have  been  a  fearful  spectacle  to  behold 
when   these  rocky  hills  were  burst  asunder,  and  the 


From  West  Point  to  Newburgk,  i6j 

The  home  of  ugly  spirits.  The  Brimstones. 

freed  waters  rushed  in  uncontrolled  freedom  from 
their  long  imprisonment,"  observed  Mrs.  Stuart. 

"  I  remember,"  said  Arthur,  "  that  the  Indians 
thought  the  rocky  barrier  was  formerly  a  prison,  in 
which  the  great  Manetho  shut  up  such  ugly  spirits 
as  would  not  submit  to  his  high  authority.  There, 
jammed  in  rifted  pines,  or  bound  in  chains  of  ada- 
mant, or  crushed  beneath  the  mighty  rocks,  they 
groaned  in  agony  and  pain  until  the  bursting  of  the 
waters  set  them  free.  But  some  of  them  are  still 
here,  and  may  be  heard  in  the  grand  but  fearful 
echoes  which  disturb  these  mountains  when  thunder 
rolls  and  tempests  rage.  Then  they  howl,  and  groan, 
and  bellow,  fearing  lest  the  great  Manetho  is  com- 
ing to  imprison  them  again." 

"  Quite  as  superstitious,  but  less  poetical,  were  the 
legends  of  the  ancient  Dutch  concerning  these  sub- 
lime hills,"  added  the  colonel.  "  They  used  to  sail 
through  this  wonderful  pass  reciting  legends  of  a 
race  of  spirits  called  Brimstones,  who,  having  once 
cherished  evil  fires  in  their  hearts,  and  breathed  bad 
passions  in  their  words,  were  doomed  to  infest  the 
earth  as  fire-flies,  tormented  by  being  obliged  to 
carry  in  their  tails  the  fires  which  they  formerly 
kept  in  their  hearts." 

"  Poor  fire-flies  !  "  exclaimed  Jennie  ironically.  "  I 
never  dreamed  that  the  tiny  lights  they  carry  could 


!0l 


Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 


Jennie's  odd  fkntiei 


Newbureh. 


cause  them  pain.  I  wonder  if  the  Spanish  ladies, 
who  confine  them  in  their  ball  dresses  to  flash  like 
diamonds,  do  not  sometimes  hear  them  groan  !  " 

The  odd  fancy  of  Miss  Jennie  provoked  a  general 
smile  and  many  little  pleasantries  as  the  boat,  pro- 
ceeding through  the  pass,  glided  over  that  stretch 
of  the  river,  about  a  mile  in  width,  called  Newburgh 
Bay.  Passing  the  villages  of  Canterbury  and  New 
Windsor,  which  lie  on  the  western  side  of  the  river, 


• 


KISIIKII.I.    I.ANHINO    AM)    NRWHUKOH. 


they  saw  Fishkill  Landing  on  the  east,  with  its  village 
lying  in  the-  distance,  and  its  mountains  towering 
beyond.  On  the  west  shore  sat  Newburgh,  with  .ill 
the  imposing  dignity  of  a  river  queen. 


From  West  Point  to  Newburgh. 


i65 


A  trip  to  Bhadyside. 


"We  are  now  sixty-one  miles  from  New  York, 
said  the  colonel  as  the  boat  was  approaching  the 
Newburgh  dock.  "  We  must  stop  a  day  or  two  in 
this  pretty  and  historical  place." 

Here,  then,  they  went  ashore,  and  took  rooms  at 
an  hotel.  In  the  afternoon  they  drove  along  a  de- 
lightful road  southward  through   New  Windsor  to 


IDLEWILD    FROM   TIIK    BROOK. 


Idlewild  or  Shadyside,  the  home  of  the  poet,  the  la-te 
N.  P.  Willis.  They  had  noticed  the  mansion  from 
the  deck  of  the  steamer.     The  chief  object  of  their 


1 66 


Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 


A  charming  glen. 


visit  this  afternoon  was  the  lonely  glen  which  forms 
part  of  this  charming  estate.     As  they  stood  on  the 


I 


IN     I  111"    ..II  N     AT    11>I.I.\VII.I>. 


bank  of  the  brook,  which  is  one  of  its  principal 
charms,  they  obtained  a  most  picturesque  view  of 
Idlewild  cottage,  and  Edith  exclaimed: — 


From  West  Point  to  Ncwburgh.  167 

The  Moodna.  Origin  of  the  word. 

"  This  is  lovely  !  It  is  more  beautiful  than  Sunny- 
side." 

"There  is  more  of  it,"  replied  Clarence. 

"The  glen  up  yonder  is  glorious!"  cried  Arthur, 
who  had  been  exploring  higher  up  the  stream  on 
his  own  account. 

Following  his  guidance,  our  party  ascended  the 
brook  to  a  rustic  bridge  which  spanned  the  rough 
bed  of  the  little  stream  that  tumbles  in  miniature 
cascades  over  rough  rocks  into  delicious  pools  shaded 
by  trees  and  shrubs,  growing  in  all  the  wild  luxuri- 
ance of  nature. 

"  What  is  this  pretty  stream  called  ?  "  asked  Edith. 

"  The  Moodna,  I  suppose,"  replied  the  colonel. 

"Moodna!"  exclaimed  Jennie,  "what  a  lovely 
name!" 

"  We  owe  it  to  Mr.  Willis,"  replied  the  colonel. 
"  He  found  the  creek  below  revoltingly  named 
Murderer's  Creek,  in  commemoration,  as  tradition 
said,  of  a  white  family  killed  by  the  Indians.  He 
persuaded  the  people  that  this  was  a  corruption  of 
the  soft  Indian  word  Moodna.  They  gladly  ac- 
cepted his  reasoning,  and  called  the  stream  Mood- 
na's  Creek." 

"  There  was  both  good  sense  and  good  taste  in 
that,"  said  Clarence.  An  opinion  in  which  they  all 
coincided. 


1 68 


Simmer  Days  ox  the  Hudson. 


Revolutionary  incidents 


The  next  day  they  visited  Washington's  Head- 
quarters, with  its  large  hall,  which  has  seven  doors 
but  only  one  window,  and  learned  from  the  colonel 


WASlIIM.Io.N'S     III.M'i.'I     M:lll:>.    MWUtl.ll. 

many  Interesting  incidents  connected  with  the  Revo- 
lution, which  occurred  during  th.it  great  patriot's 
stay  in  the  neighborhood.      It    was  while  In-  was 

here,  in    1781,   that   mutiny  broke   out   in  the  army. 


From  West  Point  to  Newburgk.  169 

■Washington's  method  of  quelling  a  mutiny. 

The  Pennsylvania  mutineers  had  disbanded  and  gone 
home.  The  New  Jersey  brigade  was  in  revolt. 
The  whole  army  was  in  danger  of  melting  away. 
Washington  sent  six  hundred  picked  men,  under 
General  Howe,  through  cold  and  snow,  to  the  re- 
volted camp.  At  midnight  Howe  silently  planted 
his  artillery  so  as  to  command  the  camp.  At  day- 
light the  mutineers  saw  themselves  in  a  field  com- 
pletely  swept  by  cannon.  They  received  orders  to 
parade  without  arms  in  five  minutes.  They  ex- 
claimed : — 

"  What,  and  no  conditions  !  " 
"  No  conditions  !  "  was  Howe's  stern  response. 
"Then,  if  we  are  to  die,  we  may  as  well  die  here 
as  anywhere,"  defiantly  retorted  the  mutineers. 

The  order  to  advance  was  immediately  given  by 
Howe,  when  the  mutineers,  seeing  his  determina- 
tion, submitted,  paraded  without  arms,  and  gave  up 
their  ringleaders.  Two  of  them  were  condemned, 
and  shot  by  twelve  of  their  own  companions.  The 
blow  was  sudden,  terrible,  and  effectual.  There  was 
no  more  mutiny  in  the  army,  for  Washington,  hav- 
ing  subdued  the  mutineers,  like  a  wise  man,  insisted, 
with  success,  that  Congress  should  redress  the  griev- 
ances justly  complained  of  by  the  troops. 

Our  party  also  visited  the  head-quarters  of  Gen- 
eral   Knox,    a   picturesque   old    house    lying   three 
]5 


i ;o        Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 


Head-quarters  of  Knox. 


Cooper's  Harvey  Birch. 


miles  west  from  Newburgh.     They  then  crossed  the 
river  to   Fishkill,  where  they  recalled  many  of  the 


frgjJET 


HEAD-QUASTBM  "l    i.KNKI'.AL   kS'OX. 

incidents  in  Cooper's  "  Spy,"  especially  the  trial  of 
Enoch  Crosby,  who  was  supposed  to  be  the  original 
of  the  Harvey  Birch  of  the  novelist.  Here,  too,  they 
were  reminded  of  Lafayette's  severe  sickness,  during 
which  Washington  watched  over  the  young  hero 
with  the  tenderness  of  a  woman  and  the  solicitude 
of  a  parent.     Nor  did  they  fail  to  visit  the  Vcrplanck 


From  West  Point  to  NcivbnrgJi.  1 7 1 

Head-quarters  of  Steuben.  Off  to  the  Katerskili. 

House,  two  miles  north-east  from  Fishkill,  the 
head-quarters  of  General  Steuben  during  part  of  the 
Revolutionary  war. 

Having  visited  these  and  other  points  of  historic- 
al interest,  and  sought,  like  genuine  travelers,  every 
good  point  for  enjoying  the  scenery,  both  at  Fishkill 
and  Newburgh,  our  party  again  took  steamer  and 
sailed  toward  the  romantic  regions  of  the  Katers- 
kili. 


i/2        Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 

The  devil's  dance  chamber.  Indian  powwows. 


CHAPTER    X. 

FROM   NEWBURGH   TO   THE   KATZBERGS. 

S  the  steamboat  approached  the  head  of  New- 
burgh  Bay,  the  colonel  pointed  toward  a  rock 
mostly  covered  with  a  fine  growth  of  arbor  vitce, 
and  separated  from  the  west  Shore  of  the  river  by  a 
marsh. 

"  That,"  said  he,  "  is  the  Duyvel's  Dans  Kamer, 
or  Devil's  Dance  Chamber,  of  which  the  veracious 
Knickerbocker  wrote  that  Governor  Stuyvesant's 
1  crew  was  most  horribly  frightened  on  going  on  shore 
above  the  Highlands  by  a  gang  of  merry,  roystering 
devils,  frisking  and  curveting  on  a  huge  flat  rock 
which  projected  into  the  river.'  Perhaps  this  legend 
crew  out  of  the  fact  that  for  a  century  after  the 
white  man's  visit  to  the  river  the  Indians  performed 
their powwows  upon  the  rock." 

"What  were po?vzvoivs,  uncle?"  asked  Edith. 

"  They  were  rites  performed  by  the  Indians  before 
starting  upon  hunting  and  fishing  expeditions,  and 
also  before  going  on  the  war-path.  At  such  times 
they  built  a  large  fire  on  the  rock,  around  which 
they   danced,    yelled,    sung   wild    songs,    and    made 


From  Ncwburgh  to  the  Katzbcrgs.  1 73 

Effects  of  superstition.  Pouglikoepsie. 

hideous  contortions.  Then  they  tumbled,  leaped, 
ran,  and  yelled,  until  the  devil  appeared.  If  he 
came  in  the  form  of  a  wild  beast,  his  apparition 
indicated  ill  success  ;  if  as  a  harmless  animal,  it  was 
an  augury  of  success." 

"  Poor  deluded  creatures  !  "  exclaimed  Mrs.  Stuart. 
"  Their  superstitions  were  born  of  their  fears,  and 
tended  but  little  to  the  improvement  of  their  char- 
acters." 

"  Superstition  never  improves  any  one,"  replied 
the  colonel.  "  Founded  in  falsehood,  it  debases 
them,  as  we  may  see  in  the  case  of  the  poor,  ignorant 
Romanists,  who  worship  the  Virgin  Mary  with  seem- 
ing devotion,  but  retain  their  characteristic  vices 
of  lying,  quarreling,  and  drunkenness ;  but  here  we 
are,  off  the  mouth  of  Wappingi's  Creek,  on  the  east 
shore  of  the  river.  That  stream  is  of  great  benefit 
to  Dutchess  County,  through  which  it  flows,  and 
from  a  high  point  of  land  near  its  mouth  one  of  the 
most  picturesque  views  of  our  noble  river  may  be 
enjoyed. 

A  half-hour's  further  sail  brought  them  to  Pough- 
keepsie,  on  the  east  shore,  seventy-five  miles  from 
New  York,  of  which  the  colonel  said  : — 

"  This  is  the  largest  town  between  New  York  and 

Albany.     The  Mohegan  Indians  called  it  Apo-kccp- 

siuck,  a  word  which  signified  safe  and  pleasant  har- 
J5W 


174 


Summer  Days  ox  the  Hudson. 


A  hard  word  to  spell. 


Vassar  College. 


bor.     There  are  said   to  be  forty  ways  of  spelling 
Poughkeepsie." 


MOUTH    OV    WAlTlNGl'S   CKEKK. 


"  What  a  grand  word  to  puzzle  a  spelling  school !  " 
exclaimed  Clarence. 

"  Yes,  very,"  replied  the  colonel,  smiling  at  the 
young  man.  "  There  is  a  fine,  if  not  a  grand  view 
of  the  river  to  be  had  lure  from  yonder  bluff  or 
cliff.  There  is  also  a  noble  institution  here,  called 
Vassar  College,  where  hundreds  of  young  ladies  re- 
ceive a  first-class  education.  It  is  to  be  regretted, 
however,  that  this  college  stands  upon  ah-  barrels: 
tlMt  is,  it  received  its  endowment  from  <>ne  who 
made    his    fortune    by   brewing   ale,   a   liquor   which 


From  Newburgh  to  the  Katzbergs. 


75 


Proposal  to  relate  a  legend  of  Poughkeepsie. 


carries  a  curse  with  it  wherever  it  goes.  Yet  Pough- 
kecpsie  is  a  delightful  city,  notwithstanding  its 
brewery." 

"  I  know  a  pretty  legend  about  Poughkeepsie," 
said  Arthur. 

Of  course  the  party  wished  to  hear  it,  and  while 
they  steamed  on  toward  Hyde  Park  and  Rondout 


HIGHLANDS    FROM    POUGHKF.EI'SIE 


Mtt^ 


Creek,  the  young  man  related  it  somewhat  as  fol- 
lows : — 

"  Once  on  a  time  a  party  of  Delaware  braves  came 
here  with  some  Pequod  captives.  Among  the  lat- 
ter was  a  young  chief,   to   whom    the    conquerors 


176         Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 

The  Pequod  captive.  A  lover's  device. 

offered  life  and  honors  if  he  would  renounce  his  own 
nation  and  join  theirs.  This  offer  he  proudly  re- 
jected, and  was  then  bound  to  a  tree  to  be  put  to 
death.  A  shriek  from  the  adjacent  thicket  startled 
his  executioners,  who  were  further  surprised  to  see 
a  pretty  captive  Pequod  girl  leap  to  their  feet  and 
implore  the  victim's  life.  He  was  her  affianced 
lover,  she  said.  The  Delawares  listened  and  began 
to  debate,  when  suddenly  the  fierce  war-whoop  of 
some  Hurons  caused  them  to  snatch  their  weapons 
and  fight  for  life.  Instantly  the  Pequod  maiden  cut 
the  thongs  which  bound  her  lover,  but  in  the  deadly 
fight  which  followed  was  herself  seized  by  the  in- 
vading Hurons  and  carried  to  their  camp. 

"  Very  soon,  however,  her  betrothed  appeared 
among  the  Hurons,  disguised  as  a  wizard  and  medi- 
cine man.  The  captive  maiden  being  sick,  he  was 
employed  to  cure  her,  or  at  least  to  prolong  her  life. 
His  medicine  must  have  been  very  powerful,  for, 
when  nightfall  arrived,  the  maiden  fled  with  him 
toward  the  river.  The  Hurons  pursued  them  with 
swift  feet.  Finding  a  light  canoe  on  the  bank  of 
the  Hudson,  the  young  brave  placed  his  beloved  in 
it,  and,  with  strong  arms,  paddled  to  a  nook  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Winnakee,  w  line  he  hid  her  from  their 
pursuers,  and  where,  as  fortune  ordered  it,  he  found 
ne  friendly  warriors  willing  to  help  him  attack 


From  NezvburgJi  to  the  Katzbergs.  \jy 


A  true  maiden.  Rondout. 

the  pursuing  Hurons  when  they  came  across  the 
stream,  as  they  speedily  did.  In  the  fight  which 
followed,  he  and  his  friendly  braves  were  victorious, 
and  such  Hurons  as  were  not  killed  were  glad  to 
flee  for  their  lives.  Thus  did  this  bold  young  Pequod 
and  the  brave  and  true  maiden  of  his  heart  find  this 
spot  to  be  indeed  a  safe  harbor.  And,  no  doubt, 
when  they  became  husband  and  wife  they  were  as 
happy  as  Indians  in  general,  which,  I  suppose,"  said 
Arthur  laughing,  "  was  not  such  a  very  high  degree 
of  happiness  as  to  make  us  envious  of  its  possessors." 

Edith  declared  that  she  greatly  admired  the  con- 
duct of  the  Pequod  maiden,  and  a  very  lively  dis- 
cussion on  the  merits  of  the  young  brave  followed, 
during  which  their  boat  passed  the  picturesque  vil- 
lage of  Hyde  Park,  six  miles  above  Poughkeepsie, 
on  the  east  bank  of  the  river,  and  came  abreast  of 
Rondout  Creek,  on  the  west  side,  about  four  miles 
farther  up. 

Rondout,  or  Redoubt,  they  were  told  by  the 
colonel,  lies  about  a  mile  back  from  the  river.  It  is 
the  depot  for  the  coal  which  comes  from  Pennsyl- 
vania by  the  Delaware  and  Hudson  Canal.  Two 
miles  back,  on  a  broad  sandy  plain,  is  Kingston, 
formerly  Esopus,  which  was  burned  by  the  British 
early  in  the  wag  of  the  Revolution.     While  relating 

this  shameful  wrong,  inflicted  by  General  Vaughan, 

S* 


178        Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 

The  Dutchmen  and  the  red-coats. 

who  acted  more  in  the  spirit  of  a  savage  Indian  than 
a  civilized  soldier,  the  colonel  said  : — 

"  The  ridiculous  and  the  serious  often  get  strange- 
ly mixed  in  the  world's  affairs.     They  did  so  on  the 


HOLDOUT   CKKEK. 


occasion  of  this  raid  on  Kingston.  Some  Dutch- 
men, on  seeing  the  dreaded  red-coats  land,  ran 
across  the  meadows  as  fast  as"  their  short  legs  could 
carry  their  fat  bodies.  One  of  the  fugitives  acci- 
dentally trod  on  a  rake  left  by  the  hay-makers  on 
the  meadow.  The  handle  flew  up  and  gave  the  af- 
frighted man  a  severe  blow  on  the  back  of  his  head, 
lie,  supposing  the  blow  came  from  a  'Britisher/ 
threw  up  his  arms  in  horror  and  exclaimed  : — - 


From  Newburgh  to  the  Katzbergs.  179 

Skin-deep  patriotism.  Beautiful  homes. 

"'O,  mein  Got !  mein  Got !  I  kivcs  up.  Hoorah 
for  King  Shorge  ! '  " 

"  That  fellow's  patriotism  was  scarcely  skin-deep," 
said  Clarence  laughing.  "  It  would  have  served  him 
right  if  he  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  British 
and  been  made  to  do  military  duty.  He  was  both 
a  coward  and  a  dough-face." 

"You  are  very  hard  on  the  poor  Dutchman, 
Clarence,"  observed  Edith. 

The  attention  of  the  company  was  now  diverted 
from  this  incident  by  the  colonel,  who  pointed  to 
the  east  bank  of  the  river,  and  told  them  of  Rhine- 
beck  and  its  many  lovely  homes,  especially  of  Wild- 
ercliff,  the  seat  of  Miss  Garrettson,  whose  father, 
Rev.  Freeborn  Garrettson,  is  so  distinguished  in 
the  annals  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and 
of  Ellerslie,  the  magnificent,  park-like  estate  of  the 
late  Hon.  William  Kelly.  Farther  up,  on  the  same 
side  of  the  river,  he  pointed  out  Barrytown,  back 
of  which  is  Rokeby,  the  seat  of  the  millionaire, 
William  B.  Astor ;  and  then  Montgomery  Place, 
the  family  seat  of  the  Livingstons. 

"  The  stately  mansion  at  Montgomery  Place," 
said  the  colonel,  "  was  built  by  the  widow  of  that 
most  heroic  man,  General  Richard  Montgomery. 
He  fought  with  Wolfe  when  that  daring  hero  took 
Quebec  from  the  French,  and  he  died  in  our  unfor- 


i  So 


Summer  Days  ox  the  Hudson 


Montgomery's  last  words  to  his  wife. 


tunate  attempt  to  carry  that  city  by  storm  in  the 
winter  of  1775.  He  has  been  truly  called  one  of  the 
noblest  and  bravest  men  of  his  age.  His  last  words 
to  his  young  wife,  when  departing  on  his  fatal  er- 
rand, were,  'You  shall  never  blush  for  your  Mont- 
gomery.' And  she  never  did.  But  she  lived  fifty 
years  a  childless  widow.  Her  estate,  which  at  her 
death  passed  into  the  hands  of  her  brother,  Edward 


llli;    KATZHERG8,    FROM    M<  >\  T<;<  >\l  I'.KY    1M.ACF, 


Livingston,  is  one  of  the  noblest  on  this  noble 
stream.  It  contains  every  thing  desirable  to  charm 
the  eye  and  gladden  the  heart." 

Annandale    and    Tivoli   were   soon   after    passed. 


From  Ncwburgh  to  the  Katzbergs. 


An  ancient  mansion.  A  narrow  escape. 


Opposite  Tivoli  their  attention  was  called  to  Esopus 
Creek,  on  the  west  bank,  at  the  mouth  of  which  is 


MOUTH  OF  E80PU8  CKEKK,   BATJGEKTIKS. 


the  busy  village*  of  Saugerties,  and  back  of  which 

rise  the  romantic  Katzbergs. 

The   ancient   mansion   of  the   Livingstons,   built 

before  the  Revolution,  was  also  pointed  out.     "  Its 

owner,"  said  the  colonel,  "  bearing  the  same  name 

as  Chancellor  Livingston,  narrowly  escaped  having 

it  sacked  by  Vaughan's  raiders,  who,  on  their  route 

to   Kingston,   had   landed   in    De  Koven's   Bay   to 

burn  Clermont,  the  home  of  the  chancellor,  which 

was   near  by.     But  the   owner  of  Tivoli   not   only 
1G 


i82         Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 

Fulton's  patron.  The  mother  of  steamships. 

convinced  the  officers  that  he  was  not  the  man  they 
sought  to  injure,  but,  being  good  humored  and 
hospitable,  he  feasted  them,  and  they  spared  his 
property,  though  they  destroyed  Clermont." 

"  Clermont,"  continued  the  colonel,  "  suggests  the 
first  steamboat,  which  was  named  after  the  estate 
of  Chancellor  Livingston,  through  whose  means 
Robert  Fulton  was  enabled  to  build  the  boat  which 
his  genius  had  devised.  The  chancellor  had  made 
the  experiment  in  1797,  by  building  a  steamboat  at 
De  Koven's  Bay?  or  Upper  Red  Hook." 

This  experiment  failed,  but  the  perseverance  of 
the  chancellor  was  not  exhausted.  He  patronized 
Fulton,  and  was  rewarded,  in  1807,  by  seeing  the 
"  Clermont  "  steam  up  the  Hudson  from  New  York 
to  Albany  in  thirty-six  hours. 

"  Thirty-six  hours!"  exclaimed  Jennie  with  an 
air  of  astonishment.  "  She  must  have  been  a  'slow 
coach,'  as  Arthur  would  saw  Why,  our  boat  does 
the  trip  in  one  third  of  the  time." 

"  Very  true,  my  dear,"  replied  the  colonel,  "  but 
the  'Clermont's'  passage  was  wonderfully  quick 
considering  that  she  was  the  first  vessel  .that  was 
ever  propelled  by  machinery  and  steam.  She  was 
the  marvel  of  her  times — the  mother  of  all  the 
steamships  which  now  skim  the  ocean  with  the 
might  of  sea  monsters  and  the  speed  of  birds." 


From  Nczvburgh  to  the  Katzbergs. 


183 


Hendrick  Hudson  and  the  Catskill  Indians. 


As  the  boat  approached  the  landing  of  Catskill, 
the  colonel  reminded  the  young  people  that  they 
were  one  hundred  and  eleven  miles  from  New  York, 
and  near  the  spot  in  the  river  where  old  Hendrick 


SW    AT    DK    KOVEN'S    BAY. 


Hudson  anchored  the  "  Half-moon,"  and  was  de- 
tained a  whole  day  by  the  crowds  of  natives  who 
flocked  to  see  his  big  canoe  with  wings.  The  scene 
he  alluded  to  is  thus  described  by  Master  Juet, 
who  was  one  of  Hendrick's  fellow-adventurers  : — 

"  Our  master  and  mate  determined  to  trie  some 
of  the  chiefe  men  of  the  countrey,  whether  they  had 
any  treacherie  in  them.     So  they  tooke  them  downe 


1 84         Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 

The  drunken  Indian.  At  Catskill  Landing. 

into  the  cabbin,  and  gave  them  so  much  wine  and 
aqua  vitce  that  they  were  all  merrie,  and  one  of  them 
had  his  wife  with  him,  which  sate  so  modestly  as 
any  of  our  countrey  women  would  doe  in  a  strange 
place.  In  the  end  one  of  them,  which  had  been 
aboord  of  our  ship  all  the  time  that  we  had  beene 
there,  was  drunke  ;  and  that  was  strange  to  the 
others,  for  they  could  not  tell  how  to  take  it.  The 
canoes  and  folke  went  all  on  shoare,  but  some  of 
them  came  againe  and  brought  stropes  of  beades ; 
(wampum,  made  of  clam  shells ;)  some  had  sixe, 
seven,  eight,  nine,  ten,  and  gave  him.  So  he  slept 
all  night  quietly." 

The  next  day  at  noon  the  Indians  came  again, 
and  finding  the  drunken  savage  sober,  they  were 
glad,  and  gave  Hudson  some  tobacco,  more  beads, 
and  some  venison  ;  after  which  the  "  Half-moon  " 
sailed  on  her  voyage  further  up  the  river. 

Our  party  landed  at  Catskill,  and  preferring  to  as- 
cend the  mountain  in  the  morning,  found  comforta- 
ble quarters  for  the  night  at  a  village  hotel. 


Among  the  Kat skills.  185 

Ascending  the  mountain.  The  Hip  Van  Winkle  legend. 


CHAPTER  XL 

AMONG    THE     KATZKILLS. 

T  I  ^HAT  they  might  take  ample  time  to  enjoy  the 
ft  .  charming  scenery  along  the  banks  of  the  Katz- 
kill  before  reaching  the  mountains,  our  party  se- 
cured a  private  conveyance  to  take  them  from  the 
village  to  the  Mountain  House.  They  were  thus  at 
liberty  to  stop  at  many  a  beautiful  spot,  and  to  note 
the  grand  and  lofty  hills  they  were  approaching 
from  many  different  points.  After  crossing  the 
plain,  which  lies  along  the  foot  of  the  mountains 
several  miles,  they  suddenly  found  themselves  in  a 
deep  ravine,  or  glen',  on  a  narrow  winding  road,  shut 
in  between  rugged  rocks  made  gloomy  by  a  thick 
growth  of  pines  and  hemlocks,  and  by  the  clouds 
which  floated  over  the  mountain  peaks. 

Of  course  they  were  all  eager  to  reach  the  scene 
of  the  famous  Rip  Van  Winkle  legend.  To  beguile 
the  time,  and  relieve  the  tedium  of  the  ride  over  the 
steep,  rough  road,  Arthur  related  the  main  points 
of  that  fascinating  story  somewhat  as  follows  : — ■ 

"  Rip  Van  Winkle  is  described  as  a  lazy,  slip- 
shod farmer  who  would  fish,  hunt,  and  gossip  in  the 
16* 


1 86 


Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson, 


Rip  Van  Winkle's  character. 


tavern  porch,  but  who  had  an  almost  conscientious 
aversion  to  profitable  work.     His  neglected  home 


f  ^ 


KsfeK^^'^  W!$£*'  * , 


nr 


W0K 


KNTRANCK    n>    nil     KATZBEKU8 


was  in  the   village  of  Katzkill.      His  wife    was  a 

bitter    scold,    and    poor    Rip    was   any    thing    but    a 
happy  man.     One  day  he  rambled  with  his  dog  and 


Among  the  Katz kills.  18; 

Hip".-,  ramble.  The  mysterious  Dutchmen. 

gun  to  the  highest  part  of  the  Katzkill  Mountains, 
where  he  was  startled  by  a  voice  crying, 

"  '  Rip  Van  Winkle  !  Rip  Van  Winkle  ! ' 

"  This  cry  came  from  a  short,  square-built  old  fel- 
low, with  thick  bushy  hair  and  a  grizzled  beard. 
His  dress  was  of  the  antique  Dutch  fashion — a  cloth 
jerkin  strapped  round  the  waist,' several  pairs  of 
breeches,  the  outer  one  of  ample  volume  decorated 
with  rows  of  buttons  down  the  sides,  and  bunches 
of  ribbon  at  the  knees.  He  bore  what  appeared  to 
be  a  liquor  keg  on  his  shoulder,  the  sight  of  which 
inclined  Rip  to  obey  his  sign  to  follow  and  assist  in 
carrying  the  load. 

"  After  slowly  toiling  up  a  narrow  ravine,  the  mys- 
terious stranger  led  the  wondering  Dutchman  into  a 
gloomy  glen.  There  he  saw  a  number  of  odd-bearded 
men  with  broad  faces,  small,  piggish  eyes,  and  pecul- 
iar noses,  playing  nine-pins.  They  all  wore  enor- 
mous breeches,  and  looked  like  a  set  of  Dutchmen  of 
the  olden  time.  They  stared  at  Rip  in  grave  silence 
until  his  knees  trembled  through  fear.  Then  his 
companion  bade  him  pass  the  contents  of  the  keg 
round  among  the  company.  In  doing  this  Rip  slyly 
tasted  the  liquor,  liked  it,  drank  again  and  again, 
until  it  overpowered  his  senses  and  he  fell  asleep. 

"On  awakening,  he  found  himself  on  the  spot 
where  he  had  first  seen  the   old  man   of  the  glen. 


i88         Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 

liip's  awakening.  Itip's  perplexity. 

He  rubbed  his  eyes — it  was  a  bright  Sunday  morn- 
ing. He  recalled  the  events  which  preceded  his 
slumber,  concluded  he  had  slept  all  night,  and  tried 
to  invent  some  excuse  to  satisfy  the  cross  Mrs.  Van 
Winkle.  Looking  for  his  gun,  he  found  its  stock 
worm-eaten,  its  lock  falling  off,  its  barrel  rusty.  His 
dog  was  gone.  He  whistled  for  him,  but  he  did  not 
obey  the  call.  RisingMrom  his  grassy  seat,  he  found 
his  joints  stiff,  and  his  limbs  slow  of  movement. 
He  searched  for  the  glen  in  which  he  had  waited  on 
the  mysterious  nine-pin  players,  but  could  not  find 
it.  Perplexed  and  hungry,  he  descended  the  mount- 
ain to  the  village.  People  stared  at  him  as  he  ap- 
proached, but  no  one  knew  him.  They  were  all 
strangers.  The  village  children  hooted  after  him, 
and  pointed  to  his  gray  beard,  which,  to  his  surprise, 
had  grown  a  foot  long.  The  houses,  too,  were 
changed.  Strange  names  were  on  the  signs  over 
the  stores.  Every  thing  was  strange,  and  poor  Rip 
said  to  himself:  'That  flagon  last  night  has  addled 
my  poor  head  sadly.' 

"  Proceeding  to  his  own  house,  he  found  it  in  ruins  ; 
an  old  hungry  dog  growled  at  him,  and  Rip  sighed, 
•  My  very  dog  has  forgotten  me.' 

"He  went  to  the  village  tavern,  but  that,  too, 
was  old  and  rickety.  A  strange  flag,  the  stars  and 
stripes,     waved    on    a    naked    pole    before    it,    and 


Among  the  Katzkills.  189 

Rip  under  suspicion.  Eip  recognized. 

beneath  the  ruby  face  of  old  King  George,  paint- 
ed on  its  sign,  was  written,  '  General  Washington.' 
The  crowd  on  the  stoop  was  made  up  of  very  differ- 
ent persons  from  those  who  formerly  sat  there,  and 
their  talk  about  Congress,  Federals,  and  Democrats, 
was  like  gibberish  in  his  ears.  His  replies  to  their 
questions  led  them  to  view  him  with  suspicion,  and 
to  think  of  putting  him  under  arrest.  Happily, 
however,  a  comely  young  woman,  who  called  her 
little  son  by  the  name  of  Rip,  led  the  puzzled  old 
man  to  question  her.  She  told  him  that  she  was 
the  daughter  of  a  man  named  Rip  Van  Winkle, 
who  had  strangely  disappeared  twenty  years  ago, 
and  whose  fate  no  one  knew.  His  dog  had  come 
home,  his  wife  had  died,  and  the  speaker,  his  daugh- 
ter, had  married  a  man  named  Gardenier. 

"  Upon  this  old  Rip  made  himself  known.  An 
aged  woman  then  came  forward  and  recognized  him. 
Next,  old  Peter  Vanderdonk  identified  him.  Fi- 
nally, the  good  people  generally  admitted  that  he 
was  old  Rip,  listened  to  his  strange  story,  and  ac- 
cepted old  Peter's  explanation,  to  wit :  that  the 
Katzkill  Mountains  were  haunted,  and  that  once  in 
twenty  years  old  Hendrick  Hudson,  with  his  crew 
of  the  '  Half-moon,'  kept  a  kind  of  vigil  among 
them.  Tradition  said  that  he  did  this  as  the  guard- 
ian of  the  great  river  which  was  called  by  his  name. 


190        Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 

A  doubtful  com  pliinent.  Spirits  of  the  mountains. 

And  to  this  day,  the  old  Dutch  people  never  hear 
thunder  in  the  summer  without  remarking:  'There's 
old  Hendrick  Hudson  and  his  crew  at  their  game 
of  nine-pins  again." 

"Very  well  told,  my  boy,"  observed  the  colonel 
when  Arthur  concluded,  "  but  the  story  loses  half 
its  charm  in  any  other  than  the  words  of  the  incom- 
parable Irving." 

"  Your  compliment,  brother,  is  like  honey  with  a 
bee's  sting  in  it,"  remarked  Mrs.  Stuart  laughing. 
Then  turning  to  Arthur,  she  added,  "  Never  mind, 
Arthur.  You  gave  us  the  main  points  of  the  le- 
gend. Now  tell  us,  if  you  can  recollect  them,  the 
traditions  of  the  Indians  respecting  these  mysterious 
mountains." 

Arthur,  after  playfully  thanking  the  lady  for  ex- 
tracting the  sting  from  the  colonel's  compliment, 
related  the  substance  of  the  Indian  legends,  re- 
corded by  that  most  veracious  of  historians,  Died  rich 
Knickerbocker,  somewhat  as  follows:— 

"The  Indians  believed  these  mountains  to  be  the 
abode  of  spirits  which  regulated  the  weather.  They 
were  ruled  by  their  mother,  an  aged  squaw,  whose 
home  was  in  their  highest  peak.  She  had  charge 
of  the  doors  of  day  and  night,  which  she  opened 
and  shut  at  the  proper  hours.  She  hung  up  the 
new  moons  in  the  skies,  and  cut  up  the  old  ones 


Among  the  Katz kills.  191 

A  mischievous  goblin.  The  lost  hunter. 

into  stars.  She  spun  the  summer  clouds  out  of 
cobwebs  and  dew,  and  sent  them  off  like  flakes  of 
cotton  into  the  air  to  be  melted  by  the  sun  into 
rain.  If  displeased,  however,  she  would  brew  up 
clouds  black  as  ink,  sitting  in  the  midst  of  them 
like  a  bottle-bellied  spider  in  its  web.  With  these 
clouds  she  deluged  the  valleys  and  spread  desola- 
tion through  the  corn-fields. 

11  In  the  olden  times  the  Indians  said  a  mis- 
chievous spirit  lived  in  the  wildest  part  of  these 
mountains,  near  a  great  rock  known  as  the  Garden 
Rock.  Sometimes  he  would  put  on  the  form  of  a 
bear,  a  deer,  or  a  panther,  and  lead  the  red  hunter 
on  a  long  and  weary  chase  through  tangled  forests 
and  among  rugged  rocks.  Finally,  he  would  sud- 
denly disappear,  shouting  '  Ho  !  ho  ! '  when  the  poor 
tired. hunter  would  be  terrified  at  finding  himself 
standing  on  the  brink  of  a  beetling  precipice  or 
raging  torrent. 

"  There  is  a  lake  near  Garden  Rock  where  the 
water-snakes  bask  in  the  sun  on  the  leaves  of  the 
pond-lilies  which  float  on  its  surface.  No  Indian 
dare  venture  near  this  awful  spot.  But  one  day  a 
hunter,  having  lost  his  way,  came  to  the  Manitou's 
Rock,  and  seeing  a  number  of  gourds  lying  in  the 
crotches  of  the  trees,  seized  one  and  made  off  with 
it.     In  his  haste  he   let   it   fall   among   the    rocks. 


192         Summer  Days  ox  the  Hudson. 

Kip  s  pillow.  Panoramic  views. 

Instantly  a  mighty  stream  gushed  forth,  washed 
him  away  among  the  precipices,  and  dashed  him  to 
pieces.  The  stream  kept  on  until  it  reached  the 
Hudson.  It  floweth  still,  and  is  the  identical  stream 
known  by  the  name  of  Katers-kill." 

"  Rip  Van  Winkle's  Cabin ! "  shouted  the  driver 
as  he  drew  up  before  a  little  cottage  standing  in  a 
pleasant  nook  half-way  between  the  plain  and  the 
Mountain  House. 

The  youthful  members  of  the  party  sprang  from 
the  carriage,  and  looked  round  in  the  vain  endeav- 
or to  locate  the  spot  on  which  the  goblins  played 
their  game  of  nine-pins.  Rip's  sleeping  place  was 
identified  by  the  hollow  stone  which  was  his  pillow 
during  that  long  sleep  of  twenty  years — at  least, 
so  said  the  driver,  who  was  very  much  disgusted 
when  the  young  folks  laughed  most  irreverently  at 
his  solemn  assurance  that  the  stone  was  really 
\\<>rn  hollow  by  the  continuous  pressure  of  old 
Kip's  head. 

After  exploring  this  legendary  nook  they  resumed 
their  slow  journey  up  the  steep  mountain  road,  fre- 
quently stopping  to  enjoy  the  rich  panoramic  views 
of  the  distant  country  afforded  by  gaps  in  the 
mountains.  At  one  p<>iut  they  experienced  a  thrill 
of  rare  delight,  followed  by  a  sudden  disappoint- 
ment.    This   was   at   a  turn  in   the   road   which   re- 


Among  the  Katzkills.  193 

A  singular  disappointment. 

vealed  the  stately  looking  Mountain  House  appar- 
ently just  before  them. 

"  See,  there  is  the  Mountain  House !  "  exclaimed 
•Jennie.  "  How  grand  it  appears!  It  is  like  an 
Italian  palace  perched  on  a  rock." 

"  I'm  glad  we're  there,"  sighed  Edith  ;  "  I'm  so 
weary." 

11  Push  on,  driver  !  "  cried  Clarence  ;  "  I'm  hungry 
enough  to  eat  one  of  the  wild  cats  which  gave  these 
mountains  their  name." 

"  Get  up  !  "  responded  the  driver  with  a  leer  which 
the  colonel  only  understood,  for  he  was  the  only 
one  of  the  party  who  had  ever  traveled  that  road 
before. 

On  toiled  the  wagon  into  a  road  more  crooked 
and  hilly  than  ever,  the  grand  hotel  disappeared, 
and  Jennie  spoke  the  feelings  of  her  companions 
when  she  said  : — 

"  Well,  this  is  too  bad.  I  thought  we  were  at 
the  Mountain  House  just  now,  and  here  we  are 
seemingly  as  far  from  it  as  ever.  I  almost  believe 
that  this  is  enchanted  ground,  and  that  the  view  we 
had  of  the  hotel  was  the  conjuration  of  some  mis- 
chievous goblin  of  the  woods." 

"Well,  that  is  real  anyhow,"  cried  Clarence  when, 
after  riding  some  time  in  silence,  they  found  them- 
selves on  the  grand  rock  platform,  twenty-seven 
17 


194        Summer  Days  ox  the  Hudson. 


hii'I  beautiful  view. 


KATER6  KILL    FAL 


hundred   feet    above   the  level   of  the    river,    upon 
which  the  hotel  is  built. 

The  landscape,  as  viewed  from  the  piazza  of  the 
Mountain  House,  was  vast,  grand,  and  beautiful. 
A  sea  of  woods  rolled  at  their  feet;  the  Hud- 
son  wound,   like  a  long  silver  thread,  through    its 


Among  the  Katzk:..  195 

led.  The  ( 

lovely  valley;  mountains,  vales,  forests,  and  cities 
filled  what  seemed  to  be  measureless  space,  bound- 
ed on  one  side  by  the  glitter  of  the  Atlantic's 
waves,  and  on  the  other  by  the  green  hills  of 
Vermont,  This  peerless  view,  the  pure  atmosphere, 
the  refreshing  mountain  air,  more  than  repaid  them 
for  the  toil  of  the  ascent. 

The  next  day  our  party  visited  the  Katers-kill 
Falls,  which  they  found  about  two  miles  from  their 
hotel,  but  which,  owing  to  the  dry  weather,  were  not 
in  a  condition  to  fill  the  ideal  previously  cherished 
by  those  of  the  party  who  had  read  the  description 
of  them  given  by  Cooper's  Leatherstocking,  in  his 
"  Pioneers."  In  fact  they  were  dry,  except  when  the 
water  was  turned  on  by  their  proprietor,  who,  for 
the  accommodation  of  summer  visitors,  has  dammed 
up  the  overflow  of  the  little  lakes  which  are  their 
source.  To  be  seen  as  in  the  illustration,  they  must 
be  visited  in  early  spring  or  after  the  autumnal  rains. 

But  if  the  falls  disappointed  our  visitors,  other 
features  of  those  glorious  mountains  did  not.  A 
drive  down  the  mountain  to  Palensville  gave  them 
great  satisfaction.  At  a  point  called  the  M  Clove  " 
thev  saw  the  Katers-kill  rushing  into  a  seething  £Ulf 
between  rocks,  which  appear  to  have  been  cleft 
asunder  in  some  violent  paroxysm  of  nature.  It  is 
named  the   ''Fawn's   Leap"   because,   as  tradition 


gt>        Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 


The  (loir  and  the  fawn. 


Till'.    K  \\\  \  s    M    \r. 


says,  ;i  fawn,  closely  pursued  by  a  hunter  and  his 
dog,  once  leaped  across  the  chasm.  The  dog  tried 
the  same  leap,  but,  falling  into  the  gulf  below,  was 

drowned. 

A  little  below   the  haw  n's  1  -e.ip  they  found  a  wild, 


Among  the  Katzkills. 


97 


A  romantic  road. 


bCK.NE    NEAR    l'ALK.\SVIH,E. 


romantic  road  at  the  foot  of  a  precipice.  Crossing 
the  stream  by  the  rustic  bridge  which  spans  it,  they 
followed  this  road  for  half  a  mile,  along  a  shelf  cut 
in  the  mountain  side  two  hundred  feet  above  the 
dashing  little  river.  On  the  opposite  side  a  mount- 
ain wall  towered  still  higher,  until  it  rose  a  thou- 
17* 


198         Summer  Days  ox  the  Hudson. 

A  fearful  gorge.  Leaving  the  mountains. 

sand  feet  above  their  heads,  while  the  stream  itself 
seemed  to  have  plunged  into  the  unknown  recesses 
of  the  gorge  below.  At  the  mouth  of  this  fearful 
gorge  they  found  the  picturesque  village  of  Palens- 
ville,  and  near  by  the  lovely  plain  which  lies  be- 
tween the  river  and  the  mountains. 

So  delighted  was  the  entire  party  with  the  weird 
and  romantic  scenery  of  the  "  Clove  "  that  they  re- 
turned to  the  Mountain  House,  from  whence  they 
made  trips  to  Stony  Clove,  to  Planterkill  Clove, 
and  even  dared  the  toilsome  ascent  of  the  High 
Peak.  As  they  had  abundant  time,  vigorous  health, 
exuberant  spirits,  and  a  constantly  growing  taste 
for  the  sublime  and  beautiful  scenery  of  these  fas- 
cinating mountains,  their  pleasure  was  increased  by 
each  succeeding  day's  explorations.  When  the 
morning  fixed  for  their  departure  arrived,  some  of 
them  became  quite  sentimental  in  the  tone  of  their 
regrets  at  leaving  a  spot  which  had  yielded  thorn  so 
much  innocent  delight.  Edith  actually  sighed  as, 
standing  upon  the  piazza  <>f  the  hotel,  she  said: — 

"  Farewell,  scene  of  loveliness!  1  don't  wonder 
Miss  Martineau  said  of  you,  'I  had  rather  have 
missed  the-  I  law  k's  Nest,  the  Prairies,  the  Mississippi, 
and  even  Niagara,  than  this!'" 

"Ha,  ha,  ha!  I  declare  thru-  is  .1  tear  in  our 
Edith'>  rye!  "  exclaimed  the  laughing  Jennie. 


Among  t/ic  Katzkills.  199 

Sentiment  and  scorn.  A  ludicrous  contrast. 

"  I  wonder  if  tears  never  fill  Miss  Jennie's  eyes," 
replied  Clarence,  who  was  always  quick  to  defend 
his  favorite  cousin. 

"  I  think  I  could  make  her  cry  the  least  bit  in  the 
world  over  the  poor  Indian's  fate,"  said  Arthur. 
Then,  turning  to  the  now  scornful  girl,  he  added, 
"I  will  try  it.  Just  think,  Miss  Jennie,  that  when 
old  Hendrick  Hudson  first  saw  these  grand  mount- 
ains thousands  of  red  men  lived,  fished,  and  hunted 
in  happy  freedom  among  them.     Now,  alas  ! — 

"  '  Cold  is  the  hearth  within  their  bowers  ! 

And  should  we  thither  roam, 
Its  echoes  and  its  empty  tread 
Would  sound  like  echoes  from  the  dead  ! 

And  'mid  yon  mountains  blue, 
Whose  streams  a  kindred  nation  quaft'd, 

When  side  by  side  in  battle  true 
A  thousand  warriors  drew  the  shaft, — 

Ah  !  there  in  desolation  cold, 
The  desert  serpent  dwells  alone, 
The  grass  o'ergrows  each  moldering  bone, 
And  'mid  their  vacant  camp — ah  !  there 
The  silence  dwells  of  dark  despair.'  " 

"Stage  ready!"  shouted  a  clear,  ringing  voice, 
and  Jennie,  struck  by  the  ludicrous  contrast  be- 
tween the  stately  sentiment  of  Arthur's  quotation 
and  this  unpoetical  announcement,  fulfilled  his 
promise  to  make  her  shed  tears  by  fairly  laughing 
until  she  cried. 


2oo        Summer  Days  ox  the  Hudson. 


A  break-neck,  drive. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

FROM    THE   KATZKILLS   TO   ALBANY. 

"  '^FJHAT  was  a  break-neck  drive  down  the  mount- 
l^t),   ain,"  said   Clarence,  somewhat   indignantly, 

after  our  party  found  itself  on  board  the  steamer 

which  was  to  convey  them  to  Albany. 

"  Mountain  drivers  never  spare  coaches  or  horses 


in   going  down   hill,"  replied  the  colonel,  "yet   it  is 
very  rarely  that  they  meet  with  accidents.     But  let 


From  the  Katzkills  to  Albany.  201 


The  city  on  a  bluff.  Ann  Lee. 

us  look  out  for  the  city  of  Hudson,  which  is  only 
four  miles  above  Katzkill,  on  the  east  bank  of  the 
river." 

All  eyes  were  then  turned  toward  Hudson,  which 
soon  appeared  seated  on  a  bluff  called  the  prome- 
nade, about  fifty  feet  above  the  river,  and  running 
back  for  a  mile  or  more  up  a  beautiful  slope  to 
Prospect  Hill.  The  colonel  told  them  that  Hudson 
is  at  the  head  of  ship  navigation,  and  is  a  very 
thrifty  city,  which  was  settled  by  Quakers,  chiefly 
from  the  barren  island  of  Nantucket,  nearly  a  hun- 
dred years  ago.  He  regretted  that  the  plan  of  their 
tour  did  not  permit  them  to  land  and  visit  the  fine 
surrounding  country,  especially  Columbia  and  Leb- 
anon Springs." 

"  Lebanon'!  Isn't  that  a  Shaker  settlement,  sir  ?  " 
asked  Clarence. 

"  Yes ;  two  miles  from  the  springs  some  five  hun- 
dred Shakers  own  ten  thousand  acres  of  highly 
cultivated  land.  They  call  their  settlement  New 
Lebanon." 

"  What  are  Shakers,  sir?  "  inquired  Arthur. 

"  Followers  of  one  Ann  Lee,  an  English  woman, 

the  wife  of  a  blacksmith,  and  the  mother  of  several 

children.     But  she  by  some  means  or  other  became 

a  fanatic,  imagined  herself  a  sort  of  female  Christ, 

and  taught  that  marriage  was  a  sinful  state.      As 
9* 


202 


Simmer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 


The  Shakers  of  Lebanon. 


almost  all  fanatics  do,  she  soon  found  followers  ;  but 
being  persecuted  in  England,  she  came  to  America 
with  a  few  disciples,  and  founded  a  Church  a  few 
miles  from  Albany.  There  she  died,  but,  strange 
as  it  may  seem,  her  cause  lived  and  grew.  There 
are  some  eighteen  communities  of  her  followers,  of 
which  New  Lebanon  is  the  chief.  With  all  their 
fanatical  notions,  they  are  a  simple,  honest,  indus- 
trious people.  Their  worship  consists  chiefly  of  sing- 
ing and  dancing,  both  of  which  are  odd  enough  to 
excite  smiles  in  the  beholders,  who  are,  however, 


ii  w     NKAU     i  in-  OVKI 


generally  restrained  from  indecorum  by  the  gravity 

and  apparent  earnestness  of  the  dancers." 


From  the  Katzkills  to  Albany.  203 

Less  romantic  aspects  of  the  river. 

Comment  on  this  story  of  the  Shakers  filled  up 
their  time  as  they  steamed  on  past  Stuyvesant  Falls 
and  Stockport  on  the  east,  and  Coxsackie  on  the 
west,  bank.  As  they  neared  Albany  their  boat 
grounded  for  a  short  time  on  the  Overslaugh,  a 
shifting  sand-bar,  caused  by  streams  which  deposit 
their  sands  in  the  bed  of  the  river. 

Eight  miles  below  Albany,  on  the  east  bank,  they 
saw  the  pretty  village  of  Castleton,  so  named  from 
the  fact  that  the  Dutch  built  their  first  fort,  in  1614, 
upon  an  island  at  the  mouth  of  the  romantic  Nor- 
manskill,  which  has  its  rise  in  the  valleys  of  the 
noble  Helderbergs. 

From  this  point  they  found  the  river  losing  its 
"  strikingly  bold  character."  Instead  of  beetling 
cliffs  frowning  darkly  on  the  rolling  stream,  wooded 
uplands  sloping  into  lofty  peaks,  and  naked  pali- 
sades shutting  out  the  view,  they  found  the  river 
dotted  with  numerous  islands,  the  channel  rapidly 
narrowing,  and  the  emerald  shores  sloping  gently 
back  into  the  interior.  It  seemed  tame  after  their 
recent  wanderings  among  the  towering  heights  of 
the  Katzbergs. 

But  their  attention  was  soon  diverted  from  the 
river  to  the  imposing  old  city  of  Albany,  reposing 
in  quiet  stateliness  on  the  west  bank  of  the  river, 
one  hundred  and  forty-five  miles  from  New  York. 


204 


Summer  Days  ox  the  Hudson. 


A  thriving  city. 


Valuable  institutions. 


"  The  oldest  city  in  the  union  except  Jamestown, 
in  Virginia,"  said  the  colonel,  as  the  place  came 
fully  under  the  eyes  of  the  party.  '*  It  was  first 
called  Beaverwyck,  then  Williamstadt,  and,  finally, 
Albany,  in  honor  of  the  Duke  of  York  and  Albany, 
afterward  James  II.  It  is  a  very  thriving  city,  con- 
nected with  the  ocean  by  the  noble  Hudson,  and 
with  our  vast  inland  lakes  and  boundless  western 
country  by  canals  and  railroads.  It  is  rich  in  money, 
in  churches,  in  literary  institutions.  It  has  a  uni- 
versity of  high  character,  a  successful  State  normal 


m  in  i  i    OBSBBV  \  rom 


school,  a  medical  college  of  superior  grade,  a  valu- 
able State  library,  splendid  collections  in  natural  his- 


From  the  Katzkills  to  Albany.  205 

At  the  Delavan  House.  An  ancient  Arcadia 

tory,  geology,  history,  and  agriculture.  It  has  also 
a  very  superior  observatory,  called  the  Dudley 
Observatory,  which,  among  other  places  of  interest, 
we  must  not  fail  to  visit  during  our  brief  stay." 

The  bustle  that  precedes  landing  from  a  great 
steamer  precluded  further  conversation,  which  was 
not  resumed  until  after  they  had  refreshed  them- 
selves at  the  sumptuous  tables  of  the  Delavan 
House,  and  had  come  together  in  the  private  parlor 
which  the  colonel  had  engaged  for  his  party. 

"  I  remember,"  said  Mrs.  Stuart,  after  their  plans 
for  the  morrow  had  been  discussed,  "  reading 
a  charming  little  work  by  a  Mrs.  Grant,  entitled 
1  Memoirs  of  an  American  Lady,'  which  gives  a 
very  delightful  account  of  the  manners  of  the 
Albanians  in  the  times  preceding  the  Revolution. 
According  to  her  showing  it  was  a  perfect  Arcadia. 

"  Please  tell  us   about  it,  mamma?"  said  Edith. 

"  Yes,  do,  mamma,  please,"  added  Jennie. 

Thus  urged,  Mrs.  Stuart  gave  her  recollections 
of  Mrs.  Grant's  book,  which  were  in  substance  as 
follows : — 

"  The  site  of  the  city  of  Albany  was  originally 
granted  to  a  gentleman  named  Van  Rensselaer  by  the 
States  of  Holland.  His  title  made  him  owner  of  a 
vast  tract  running  from  the  church,  in  the  center  of 

the  town,  twelve  miles  in  every  direction — a  princi- 

18 


206        Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 

Olden  times  in  Albany. 

pality  in  fact.  Portions  of  these  lands  he  leased  to 
settlers  '  as  long  as  water  runs  and  grass  grows,'  on 
condition  of  receiving  the  '  tenth  sheaf  of  every 
kind  of  grain  the  ground  produced.' 

"  Under  these  leases  the  settlers  rapidly  increased. 
Many  of  them  were  from  families  of  mark  in  Hol- 
land. The  town  spread  out  at  first  along  the  river 
bank,  and  then  up  the  hills  behind  it.  Its  inhabit- 
ants prospered  abundantly.  They  were  industrious 
from  necessity.  Their  manners  were  simple  with- 
out being  rude,  plain  without  vulgarity.  Their  re- 
ligious life  was  stiff  and  formal,  yet  it  was  produc- 
tive of  social  order  and  morality.  In  the  absence 
of  schools,  mothers  were  the  teachers  of  their  chil- 
dren. In  addition  to  this,  and  their  household  duties, 
they,  with  their  daughters,  cultivated  the  garden, 
with  which  every  house  was  surrounded,  and  'into 
which  no  foot  of  man  entered  after  they  were  dug 
in  spring.'  With  her  great  calash  on  her  head,  her 
little  painted  basket  of  seeds  on  her  arm,  and  her 
rake  over  her  shoulder,  the  mistress  of  a  household 
would  enter  her  garden  and  sow,  plant,  and  rake 
incessantly.  These  fair  gardeners  were  great  and 
very  successful  florists. 

"The  summer  evenings  were  devoted  to  sociability 
bythese  unsophisticated  people.  Then  nearly  every 
porch  was  filled.     At  one  door  young  matrons,  at 


From  the  Katz kills  to  Albany. 


207 


Amusements  of  the  young  Albanians 


another  the  ciders  of  the  people,  at  a  third  the 
youths  and  maidens  gayly  chatting  or  singing,  while 
the  children  played  round  the  trees,  or  waited  by 
the  cows  for  the  milk  which  was  the  chief  ingredient 
of  their  frugal  supper,  a  meal  which  they  generally 
ate  sitting  on  the  steps  in  the  open  air. 

"  For  amusements   the  young   men    hunted   and 


SLEIGH    HIDING    ON    Till 


fished,  the  girls  visited  each  other.  In  spring  and 
summer  both  sexes  made  frequent  rural  excursions, 
enjoying  picnics  in  the  grand  old  woods,  to  which 
the  young  men  contributed  fish  and  birds,  and  the 
young  ladies  doughnuts,  pies,  and  other  products 
of  their  culinary  skill.     In   winter   skating,   sleigh- 


2o8         Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 

A  peculiar  frolic.  A  ludicrous  incident. 

ing,  especially  on  the  river,  and  coasting,  afforded 
them  abundance  of  healthy  and  delightful  entertain- 
ment, as  they  do  to  the  young  folks  of  the  present 
generation. 

"  In  that  primitive  society  the  people  married 
young,  as  they  could  safely  and  wisely  do,  be- 
cause their  wants  were  few,  small  outfits  sufficed, 
and  they  were  sure  of  comfortable  support  from  the 
fruits  of  that  industry  to  which  they  had  all  been 
trained. 

"  A  peculiar  frolic,  popular  with  young  Albanians, 
but  which  can  scarcely  be  considered  moral,  how- 
ever, was  very  common  in  those  old  days.  They 
would  sometimes  spend  a  convivial  evening  at  a 
tavern,  on  which  occasions  they  made  it  a  point  '  to 
steal  either  a  roasting  pig  or  a  fat  turkey '  for  their 
supper.  No  one  in  Albany  ever  feared  the  loss  of 
any  other  species  of  property  except  these  animals, 
which,  in  consequence  of  this  mischievous  practice, 
were  guarded  by  their  owner  with  great  care. 

"Mrs.  Grant  records  one  ludicrous  incident  con- 
nected with  this  highly  censurable  practice.  It 
seems  that  two  parties,  unknown  to  each  other,  had 
resolved  one  evening  to  steal  the  same  roasting  pig. 
One  of  them  happening  to  be  first  in  the  field 
secured  the  pig  and  carried  it  with  all  possible  speed 
to  the   'King's  Arms'  to  be  cooked  for  their  sup- 


From  the  Katzkills  to  Albany.  209 

Trick  and  counter-trick. 

per.  When  the  second  party  found  the  pig  gone 
they  shrewdly  guessed  its  fate,  and  their  leader,  bid- 
ding them  wait  for  him  at  a  rival  tavern,  hurried  to 
the  '  King's  Arms.'  There  this  gay,  unscrupulous 
youth  penetrated  the  kitchen,  saw  the  pig  roasting 
before  the  fire,  and  found  out,  by  questioning  the 
sable  cook,  for  whom  she  was  preparing  supper. 
He  then  sent  the  unsuspecting  Dinah  with  a  mes- 
sage to  one  of  the  pig-stealers.  No  sooner  was  she 
out  of  the  room  than  this  young  roysterer  cut  the 
string  by  which  the  animal  was  suspended  before 
the  blazing  fire,  and  laying  the  savory  creature  in  the 
dripping  pan,  ran  with  it  to  his  expectant  friends  at 
the  other  tavern,  and  ordered  its  roasting  to  be  com- 
pleted for  the  supper. 

"  Meantime  the  party  at  the  'King's  Arms,'  learn- 
ing their  disaster,  readily  guessed  both  the  trick  and 
its  authors.  They  also  speedily  devised  a  counter- 
trick  by  which  to  recover  possession  of  the  lost  pig. 
Quietly  collecting  some  dry  brush,  they  placed  it  in 
front  of  the  rival  tavern.  Setting  it  on  fire,  they 
shouted  'Fire!  fire!'  most  lustily.  This  cry,  so 
alarming  in  a  village  built  chiefly  of  wood,  and  un- 
provided with  engines  for  extinguishing  fires,  quick- 
ly drew  every  person  in  the  tavern  to  the  door. 
Seizing  this  opportunity,  the  purveyor  of  the  '  King's 

Arms'  party  stole  into  the  kitchen,  and  carrying  the 
18* 


210        Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 

The  morality  of  circumstances.  Strangers  in  scarlet  coats. 

pig  out  by  the  back  door,  returned  to  his  friends 
rejoicing  over  the  recovery  of  their  spoils." 

"  A  very  amusing,  if  not  a  commendable,  fact," 
observed  the  colonel  as  Mrs.  Stuart  concluded  amid 
the  laughter  of  the  young  folk.  "  It  only  proves, 
however,  that  some,  at  least,  of  the  Albany  boys 
owed  their  morality  quite  as  much  to  their  circum- 
stances as  to  their  principles.  Opportunity  would 
have  made  those  pig-stealers  as  fast  as  only  too 
many  of  our  young  city  people  are  in  these  degen- 
erate times."  . 

"  You  are  very  severe  on  the  young  gentlemen, 
uncle,"  remarked  Edith. 

"  No  more  so  than  facts  warrant,  my  dear,"  replied 
Mrs.  Stuart.  "  I  recollect  Mrs.  Grant  states  that 
when  portions  of  the  British  army  made  its  appear- 
ance in  Albany  during  the  French  wars,  the  young 
Albanians  of  both  sexes  speedily  trampled  on  the 
counsels  of  their  elders,  and,  to  the  great  distress  of 
their  good  Dominie  Frelinghuysen,  engaged  in 
masked  balls  and  private  theatricals.  That  wise 
man  preached,  pleaded,  and  protested  against  those 
departures  from  Christian  propriety  in  vain.  They 
persisted  in  spite  of  him,  and  made  his  place  so  un- 
comfortable that  he  finally  resigned  his  pastorate 
and  sailed  for  Holland.  On  the  passage  he  disap- 
peared, but   whether  he  fell  overboard  by  accident, 


From  the  Katz kills  to  Albany.  211 

Dominie  Frelinghuysen.  The  Bchnyler  Mansion. 

or  walked  over  in  a  moment  of  insanity,  was  never 
known.  The  good  people  of  his  Church  believed 
that  he  was  picked  up  while  floating  on  the  sea,  and 
landed  on  some  unknown  remote  island,  where  he 
lived  a  hermit's  life.  For  a  long  time  they  expected 
his  return,  laden  with  the  rich  fruits  of  silent  medi- 
tation to  be  distributed  for  their  benefit.  But  they 
never  saw  him  again,  though  they  did  see  the  wis- 
dom of  his  counsels  when  they  beheld  the  spread 
of  immorality  and  scandal  among  their  children  in 
consequence  of  their  entering  into  the  amusements, 
and  following  the  example,  of  those  gay  strangers  in 
scarlet  coats." 

The  next  morning  our  lively  little  party  sallied 
forth  to  see  the  many  objects  of  interest  to  intelli- 
gent visitors  in  this  fine  old  city.  Among  these 
was  the  Schuyler  Mansion,  especially  attractive  to 
the  colonel  because  of  the  high  character,  moral 
and  military,  of  the  distinguished  patriot  soldier 
who  built  it,  and  who  for  many- years  dispensed  a 
princely  hospitality  within  its  spacious  walls. 

The  colonel  spoke  with  enthusiastic  warmth  of 
the  generous  treatment  at  this  mansion  of  Burgoyne 
and  his  officers  after  their  capture  at  Saratoga.  So 
courteous  and  so  attentive  to  their  wants  was  this 
illustrious  soldier  that  Burgoyne  was  deeply  moved, 
and  said, — 


2i2         Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 


A  generous  host. 


A  repentant  guest. 


"You   show   me   great    kindness    though    I    have 
done  you  much  injury." 


1P^ 


j*?t 


' 


;im:i:ai.  seur vi.i:r.  s   MAN810N,    ALBANY. 


"That  was  the  fate  of  war,"  replied  the  generous 
Schuyler,  "  let  us  say  no  more  about  it." 

Mrs.  Schuyler  nobly  seconded  her  husband's  grace- 
ful courtesy,  and  one  evening  her  distinguished  and 
honored  guest  was  so  deeply  moved  as  to  say,  with 
tears  in  his  eyes, — 

"Indeed,  this  is  too  much  for  the  man  who  has 
ravaged  their  lands  and  burned  their  dwellings." 

The  young  folks  of  the  party  were  amused  by  an 
anecdote  of  Schuyler's  second  son,  an  arch,  active 


From  the  Katzkills  to  Albany. 


213 


A  boyish  freak. 


An  ancient  house. 


little  fellow  of  seven  years,  who,  one  morning, 
rushed  into  the  saloon  occupied  by  Burgoyne  and 
his  suite,  and,  after  shutting  himself  inside  the  door, 
exclaimed, — 

"  You  are  all  my  prisoners  !  " 

"  A  boyish  freak  that,"  observed  the  colonel, 
"  but  under  the  circumstances  it  added  not  a  little 
to  the  melancholy  of  the  dejected  prisoners  of  war." 


STREET    VIEW    IN    ANCIENT    ALBANY. 


When,  in  the  course  of  their  walk,  they  came  to 
the  intersection  of  North  Pearl  and  State  streets, 
the  colonel  produced  a  picture  of  that  part  of  the 
city   as    it    was    three    quarters  of  a    century  ago. 


214         Summer  Days  ox  the  Hudson. 

An  eccentric  old  bachelor.  Agreeable  days. 

Pointing  to   the   gable-ended   house  at  the   nearer 
corner,  he  said, — 

"  That  house  was  built  for  a  parsonage,  of  bricks, 
tiles,  iron,  and  wood-work  imported  from  Holland. 
It  was  finished  in  mahogany  and  elegantly  orna- 
mented with  carvings  in  high  relief  in  1657.  Its 
last  occupant  was  an  eccentric  old  bachelor,  whom 
the  boys  regarded  as  some  fierce  Bluebeard  or  ogre. 
When  his  tall,  thin  figure,  with  its  bullet  head 
sprinkled  with  thin  gray  hair,  appeared  on  the  side- 
walk, they  fled,  fancying  he  was  growling, — 

"  '  Fee,  fo,  fum, 

I  smell  the  blood  of  an  Englishman.' 

"  Though  not  so  terrible  as  the  boys  imagined, 
he  was  by  no  means  a  good  citizen." 

We  have  not  space  to  describe  more  of  what  our 
party  saw  in  Albany,  but  only  to  say  that  they 
spent  several  very  agreeable  days  there,  and  then, 
after  visiting  Stone  Ridge,  the  Falls  of  Tivoli,  and 
Greenbush,  they  turned  their  steps  toward  the  bust- 
ling city  of  Troy,  six  miles  higher  up  tin  river,  and 
one  hundred  and  fifty-one  miles  from  New  York. 


From  Troy  to  the  Falls  of  the  Battcnkill.      2 1 5 


The  view  from  Mount  Ida. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

FROM  TROY  TO  THE  FALLS  OF  THE  BATTENKILL. 

/p\ UR  party  spent  a  day  in  Troy,  partly  for  the 
~£jgy*  sake  of  enjoying  the  beautiful  view  from  the 
summit  of  Mount  Ida,  which  rises  abruptly  directly 


VIEW    OF    TROY    FROM    MolNT    IDA. 


behind  the  city,  and  partly  to  cross  the  river  to  see 
the  United  States  Arsenal  at  West  Troy.  Of  the 
former  Clarence  remarked, — 


2i6         Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 

A  Roman  Catholic  college.  Priests  and  their  masters. 

"  This  view  is  not  equal  in  grandeur  to  the  scen- 
ery of  the  Highlands  and  the  Katzkills,  but  it  is 
very,  very  beautiful." 

"  And  the  Katzbergs,  looming  up  in  the  distance, 
are  at  least  suggestive  of  the  wild  grandeur  which 
you  miss  immediately  about  you,"  added  Mrs. 
Stuart. 

"  What  is  this  huge  pile  of  buildings?"  inquired 
Edith,  pointing  to  a  fowered  edifice  which  crowns 
the  mount. 

"  Unfortunately,  a  Roman  Catholic  college,"  re- 
plied the  colonel,  "  a  school  for  training  priests  to 
hold  the  consciences  of  ignorant  people  in  subjec- 
tion to  the  rulers  of  a  Church  which  is  corrupt  both 
in  doctrine  and  morals — a  Church  which  wields  its 
spiritual  power  for  political  ends,  and  which  is  the 
most  dangerous  enemy  with  which  our  free  institu- 
tions have  to  contend." 

"  You  arc  pretty  hard  on  the  Catholics,  sir,"  said 
Clarence. 

"  Not  on  the  Catholics,  my  boy,  they  are  only 
deceived  ;  but  on  their  ruling  priests.  I  say  ruling 
priests,  because  the  great  body  of  the  Catholic 
priests  art;  practically  slaves  to  the  higher  ecclesi- 
astics, whose  commands  they  dare  not  disobey. 
Hundreds  of  tliem  are,  no  doubt,  kept  from  re- 
nouncing their  positions  by  fear  of  that   unsleeping 


From  Troy  to  the.  Falls  of  the  Battenkill.      2 1 7 

The  arsenal  at  West  Troy.  What  Edith  hated. 

vengeance  which  dogs  and  ruins  an  apostate  priest 
in  spite  of  our  laws  and  sympathies." 

To  these  remarks,  uttered  with  deep  feeling,  no 
one  ventured  a  reply  ;  and,  after  rambling  to  see 
the  view  from  different  points,  they  retraced  their 
steps  to  the  city  below. 

The  arsenal  at  West  Troy,  across  the  river,  with 
its  delightful  promenade  along  the  river-bank,  its 
numerous  shops,  military  machines,  store-houses, 
quarters,  etc.,  gave  them  an  agreeable  afternoon 
employment,  and  afforded  them  not  a  little  infor- 
mation respecting  Uncle  Sam's  preparations  for  war 
in  time  of  peace.  As  they  were  leaving,  however, 
Edith  excited  a  general  laugh  by  the  warmth  with 
which  she  exclaimed, — 

"Well,  I  don't  care!  I'd  rather  visit  one  church 
than  thirty  arsenals." 

"  Hoity,  toity!  Is  that  the  way  you  estimate 
your  uncle's  profession,  Miss  Edith?"  demanded 
the  colonel  in  a  tone  of  affected  anger. 

"  I  can't  help  it,  dear  uncle,"  replied  Edith  with 
moistened  eyes,  "  war  is  horrible.     I  hate  it." 

The  bustle  caused  by  a  crowd  of  people  hastening 
from  the  ferry-boat  prevented  any  further  remark. 
When  the  boat  put  out  their  attention  was  taken 
up  by  the  beauty  of  the  river  scene,  with  its  steam- 
boats and  sailing  craft :  the  city  sitting  proudly  on 
19 


218 


Simmer  Days  ox  the  Hudson 


Views  from  Diamond  Hill. 


RENSSELAER   AND   SARATOGA   RAILROAD    BRIDGE. 


its  right  bank,  and  the  long  railroad  bridge  stretch- 
ing across  the  stream,  looking  like  a  huge  cable  in 
the  distance. 

From  Troy  our  party  ascended  the  river  four 
miles,  by  a  hired  conveyance,  to  Lansingburgh. 
The  drive  along  the  river  bank  they  found  to  be 
most  delightful.  After  a  hasty  visit  to  the  top  of 
Diamond  Hill,  which  rises  abruptly  behind  the  vil- 
lage, as  if  in  emulation  o(  the  Mount  Ida  of  its 
Trojan  neighbors,  they  crossed  tin'  long  bridge  which 
connects  tlic  town  with  the  very  attractive  villa 
of  Waterfofd,  on  the  west  bank.     Their  object  in 


From  Troy  to  the  Falls  of  the  BattenkilL     219 


Mouth  of  the  Mohawk. 


A  splendid  cataract. 


crossing  the  river  at  this  point  was  to  spend  a  clay 
in  rambling  among  the  picturesque  and  grand  scen- 
ery found  about  the  mouth  of  the  Mohawk.  This 
fine  river,  after  enriching  the  fertile  country  in  the 
interior  -of  New  York  through  which  it  flows  for 
over  one  hundred  and  thirty  miles,  tumbles  over  a 
precipice  seventy-eight  feet  deep,  in  a  stream  nine 
hundred  feet  wide,  at  Cohoes,  and  then  discharges 


WATERFORD    AND    LANSINGBURGII    BRIDGE. 


its  waters  into  the  Hudson  a  mile  below.     As  our 
tourists  stood  in  the  garden  of  the  Cataract  House 
at  Cohoes  Miss  Jennie  exclaimed, — 
"  What  a  splendid  cataract !  " 


220         Summer  Days  ox  the  Hudson*. 

A  grand  drive.  Old  battle  grounds. 

"  It's  a  miniature  Niagara,"  added  Edith. 

"  It  is  certainly  very  beautiful,"  remarked  the 
colonel.  "  The  Indians  must  have  had  a  canoe 
swept  over  it,  for  they  named  it  Ca-hoos,  or  a  canoe 
falling,  from  which  word,  as  I  suppose,  we  get  our 
less  euphonious  Cohoes." 

Anxious  to  see  as  much  of  the  Hudson  as  pos- 
sible, our  travelers  drove  the  next  day  from  Water- 
ford  to  Stillwater.  They  found  the  stream  too 
swift  for  navigation,  but  the  country  was  rich  and 
picturesque  in  its  highly  cultivated  soil,  its  wood- 
ed hills,  its  flocks  and  herds,  and  thrifty-looking 
homesteads. 

"  We  have  had  a  grand  drive,"  said  the  colonel, 
after  they  had  seated  themselves  in  the  hotel  at 
Stillwater.  "  We  are  now  in  a  region  esteemed 
sacred  by  every  true  American,  because  of  the  great 
military  events  which  transpired  hereabouts  in  our 
Revolutionary  war.  We  will  to-morrow  drive  over 
the  ground  on  which  our  patriot  fathers  fought  and 
won  the  battles  which  ended  with  the  surrender 
of  the  British  General  Burgoyne  and  his  entire 
army.  After  Bunker  Hill  it  was  their  first  grand 
success." 

We  have  not  space  to  follow  our  tourists  on  their 
ride-  the  next  day  over  this  famous  battle  ground, 
nor  to  repeat  in  detail  the  colonel's  enthusiastic  but 


From  Troy  to  the  Falls  of  the  BattenkilL     221 

Three  armies  besetting  one. 

truthful  story  of  the  campaign  which  promised  so 
much  to  the  invaders  at  its  opening,  but  ended  so 
disastrously  to  their  arms.  We  can  only  give  its 
substance,  and  say  that  in  1777  General  Burgoyne, 
with  seven  thousand  troops  and  a  fine  force  of 
artillery,  marched  from  Quebec  to  Lake  Champlain, 
while  Colonel  St.  Leger  advanced  with  seven  hun- 
dred troops  toward  the  Mohawk  Valley  with  the 
intention  of  occupying  Albany.  Meanwhile  Gen- 
eral Clinton  was  to  ascend  the  Hudson  from  New 
York  with  another  army  and  co-operate  with  Bur- 
goyne. The  plan  promised  to  place  our  patriot 
army  between  three  hostile  armies,  and  crush  both 
it  and  the  Revolution  by  a  single  blow.  But  God 
willed  it  otherwise.  St.  Leger  was  forsaken  by  his 
Indian  allies,  and  beaten  back  from  Fort  Schuyler. 
Burgoyne's  foraging  parties  were  driven  from  Ver- 
mont, whither  they  had  been  sent  to  secure  supplies 
for  his  army,  by  General  Stark.  Clinton  did  not 
make  his  appearance  from  below,  and  the  British 
general  was  obliged  to  quit  his  intrenched  camp  at 
Wilbur's  Basin,  and  attack  the  patriot  army  in  its 
fortified  position.  He  was  resolutely  met,  and  com- 
pelled to  retire  with  serious  loss.  About  two  weeks 
after  he  made  a  second  attempt  on  the  American 
position,  but  with  no  better  result.      Discouraged 

and  embarrassed,  he  next  determined  to  retreat  to 
11* 


222         Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson 


Patriot  victories. 


Capture  of  an  army. 


Fort  Edward,  but  was  anticipated  by  the  patriots, 
who  had  by  this  time  occupied  that  post  in  force. 
Finally,  seeing  no  way  to  save  his  army,  either  by 


BURQOYNEB    ENt  AMl'MKN T    AT    WILBURS    ISASIN. 

retreating  or  fighting,  Burgoync  surrendered  his 
whole  command  with  all  its  equipments. 

"  That  was  a  glorious  day  for  our  cause!"  ex- 
claimed Arthur  with  enthusiasm. 

"Yes,  it  was,"  replied  the  colonel.  "The  forty 
brass  cannon,  the  camp  equipage,  and  the  nearly 
eight  thousand  prisoners  we  gained,  were  great 
prizes  to  draw  in  the  lottery  of  the  war;  but  the 
prestige  of  the  victory  was  vastly  more.  It  encour- 
aged the   patriots   wonderfully.      It    also   convinced 


From  Troy  to  the  Falls  of  the  Bat  ten  kill.      223 

An  impressive  incident. 

the  world  that  they  were  in  deadly  earnest,  and  that 
their  final  triumph  was  at  least  a  possibility." 

"  I  remember  an  incident  of  Burgoyne's  last  bat- 
tle," said  Clarence,  "  which  deeply  impressed  me 
when  I  read  the  history  of  the  Revolution." 

"What  was  it?"  asked  Mrs.  Stuart. 


SCEIvE   OF    BUEGOYNE  S   SUltEENDEE. 


"  It  related  to  General  Fraser,  who  was  the  hero 
of  the  British  forces  in  the  field  on  that  memorable 
day.  Dressed  in  the  brilliant  uniform  of  a  field 
officer,  and  mounted  upon  a  magnificent  iron-gray 
charger,  he  rode  over  the  field  of  battle  like  a 
paladin  of  ancient  story,  inspiring  the  courage  of 
the  troops,  and  directing  their  movements  with  mas- 


224        Summer  Days  ox  the  Hudson. 

A  doomed  hero.  A  fetal  ritle  ball. 

terly  skill.  Colonel  Morgan,  of  an  American  rifle 
corps,  seeing  that  the  issue  of  the  battle  depended 
on  the  fate  of  this  heroic  soldier,  called  a  file  of  his 
best  marksmen  and  pointed  toward  the  doomed 
general,  saying : — 

"'That  gallant  officer  is  General  Fraser.  I  ad- 
mire and  honor  him,  but  it  is  necessary  he  should  die. 
Victory  for  the  enemy  depends  upon  him.  Take 
your  stations  in  that  clump  of  bushes  and  do  your 
duty.' 

"  In  a  few  seconds  the  rifle  shots  of  Morgan's 
men  began  falling  so  thickly  around  the  devoted 
Fraser  that  one  of  his  aids  said  : — 

" '  General,  you  are  a  particular  mark  for  the 
enemy,  would  it  not  be  prudent  for  you  to  retire 
from  this  place  ?  ' 

"  '  My  duty  forbids  me  to  fly  from  danger,'  replied 
the  heroic  man. 

"  The  next  moment  a  rifle  ball  laid  him  low.  Fie 
was  carried  from  the  field  to  Baron  Reidesel's  quar- 
ters and  laid  upon  a  bed.  The  surgeon  examined 
his  wound.  '  Tell  me,'  said  Fraser,  '  if  my  wound 
is  mortal.     Do  not  flatter  me.' 

"There  was  no  hope.  The  fatal  ball  had  passed 
through  tin-  stomach.  The  Baroness  Reidesel  min- 
i  itered  t<>  him  with  womanly  kindness,  and  heard 
him  exclaim  frequently,  with  sighs: — 


From  Troy  to  the  Falls  of  tJic  Battenkill.      225 

A  general's  death.  The  good  time  coming. 

" '  O  fatal  ambition  !  Poor  General  Burgoyne  !  O 
my  dear  wife  ! ' 

"  The  next  morning  his  mortal  career  ended.  He 
was  buried  in  the  evening,  according  to  his  own  de- 
sire, in  a  redoubt  built  on  the  middle  hill  of  Bur- 
goyne's  encampment." 

"  Shocking !  "  exclaimed  Edith,  "and  yet  he  was 
only  one  of  thousands  who  were  mangled  or  killed 
on  that  fearful  day." 

"  I  never  hear  or  read  of  battles,"  remarked  Mrs. 
Stuart,  "  without  praying  in  my  heart  for  the  reign 
of  the  Prince  of  Peace — for  the  day  when  nations 
will  learn  war  no  more." 

"  That  day  is  coming,  no  doubt,"  replied  the  col- 
onel.    "  The  details  of  modern  battles,  spread  before 

» 

the  people  as  they  now  are  by  the  newspapers,  cause  a 
public  dread  of  war  unknown  in  former  times.  The 
common  sense  of  the  world,  and  the  higher  feeling 
of  humanity  created  by  the  loving  Gospel  of  the 
Lord  of  life,  revolt  against  it.  Courage,  Miss  Edith  ! 
The  days  of  great  wars  are,  no  doubt,  numbered." 

During  the  drive  of  thirteen  miles  from  Stillwater 
to  Schu\lerville,  through  a  rich  plain,  to  visit  the 
principal  scenes  of  the  before-named  battles,  the 
young  people  were  quite  amused  with  the  old-fash- 
ioned  rope  ferries  by  means  of  which   the  river   is 

crossed  in  this  region.     Stopping  at  Bemis's  Heights 
10* 


226 


Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 


An  ingenious  device. 


Schuylerville. 


they  examined  one  of  them  closely,  and  found  it  to 
consist  of  a  big  scow  pushed  by  poles  reaching  to 
the  bottom  of  the  stream,  and  kept  in  its  course  by 


ROI'K    KIIIKV. 


ropes  fore  and  aft,  which  were  attached  by  friction 
rollers  to  a  stout  cable  stretched  across  the  river. 

"  A  very  ingenious  device,  that!"  exclaimed  Ar- 
thur, laughing,  "but  not  quite  equal  to  a  New  York 
steam  ferry  palace." 

After  spending  the  night  at  Schuylerville,  ourtour- 
ists  started  early  the  next  morning  to  view  the  beau- 
tiful scenery  to  be  found  in  its  vicinity,  as  well  as  to 
visit  such  points  of  historic  interest  as  the  Schuyler 


From  Troy  to  the  Falls  of  the  Bat  ten  kill.      227 


A  deed  of  blood. 


Bchuylervillo  Mansion. 


Mansion,  and  the  site  of  old  Fort  Saratoga,  which 
in  1745  was  the  scene  of  the  murder  of  thirty  fami- 
lies by  a  horde  of  Frenchmen  and  Indians,  led  by  a 
noted  partisan  named  Marin,  but  spurred  on  to  the 
dastardly  deed  of  blood  by  Father  Piquet,  a  crafty 
Romish  priest.  The  Schuyler  Mansion  was  once 
the  country-seat  of  General  Schuyler,  who  erected 
it  on  the  site  of  one  he  had  previously  built,  but 
which  was  burned  by  order  of  Burgoyne — a  deed 
more  worthy  of  an  Indian  chief  than  a  British  offi- 
cer, and  which  cost  him  bitter  pangs  of  useless  re- 


RAPID8    OF   T1IK    FISH    CKEKK,    AT    Srilli  YLEUVII.t 


gret  when,  after  his  capture,  he  learned  the  nobility 
of  Schuyler's  nature. 


228         Summer  Days  ox  the  Hudson. 

Charming  cascades.  A  bury  Been*. 

One  of  the  views  which  highly  gratified  our  tour- 
ists was  the  cascades  of  Fish  Creek,  which  is  the 
outlet  of  the  well-known  Saratoga  Lake. 

"  It  is  perfectly  beautiful  !  "  exclaimed  Jennie, 
with  her  usual  warmth  of  feeling.  "  I  love  to 
watch  those  rapids  tumbling  beneath  the  bridge  as 
if  they  were  in  a  hurry  to  mix  with  the  noble 
Hudson." 

"  This  view  is  indeed  picturesque,  my  dear,"  re- 
plied the  colonel,  "  but  it  will  appear  tame  to  you 
after  you  have  seen  the  Falls  of  Di-on-on-dch-o-iva , 
which  we  shall  visit  presently." 

"  Di-on-on-deh-o-wa J '"  exclaimed  Arthur  in  a  sar- 
castic tone.  "  If  the  falls  are  as  singular  as  their 
name,  they  must  be  very  remarkable  indeed." 

"They  are  remarkable,  my  bow'"  replied  the 
colonel,  "  but  the  meaning  of  their  Indian  name  is 
uncertain." 

Returning  to  their  hotel,  our  party  took  a  carriage 
and  crossed  by  a  bridge,  eight  hundred  feet  long. 
to  the  cast  side  of  the  Hudson,  for  the  purpose  of 
enjoying  the  delightful  scenery  of  the  Battenkill 
valley.  Before  crossing  tin-  bridge,  however,  they 
drove  t<>  a  point  up  the  river  from  whence  they 
could  behold  the  delightful  scene  at  tin-  confluence 
of  the  Battenkill  with  the  1  [udson. 

11  That  is  like  fairy-land  !"  exclaimed  Edith.  "  That 


From  Troy  to  the  Falls  of  the  Battenkill.      229 

Union  of  two  rivers. 

island  is  lovely.     It  divides  the  river,  the — what  did 
you  call  it,  uncle?" 

"The  Battenkill." 

"  O  yes,  the  Battenkill.    The  island  divides  it  into 


CONFLUENCE   OF   THE   HUDSON    AND    BATTENKILL. 

two  channels,  and  its  waters  flow  into  the  Hudson 
without  a  ripple.  It  is  beautiful — but  I  don't  re- 
member hearing  any  thing  about  the  Battenkill  at 
school." 

"  It  must  have  been  on  your  map  of  the  State  of 
New  York,"  rejoined  the  colonel,  "  though  it  is  not 
a  large  river,  only  fifty  miles  from  its  rise  in  Ver- 
mont   to    its   mouth  ;    but   if  vou    have   filled   your 
20 


210 


Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 


Falls  of  the  Batten  kill. 


imaginations  with  this  delicious  bit  of  scenery  we 
will  now  drive  over  the  Hudson  and  ascend  the 
Battenkill  a  mile  or  two." 

Two  miles  from  the  mouth  of  this  little  river  they 


1M  OH  OH   l>«ll  0-W  v.   OB  U&HA1   TALLB  OF    nil.    BATTEN  KIL1 


left  their  carriage  in  care  of  the  driver,  and  descend- 
ed a  steep,  and  somewhat  dangerous,  precipice  on  its 
south  hank  to  the  depth  of  sixty  feet.  There,  after 
securing  good   standing  places  on  a  shelving  rock. 


From  Troy  to  the  Falls  of  tJic  Bat  ten  kill.      231 


The  Devil's  Caldron. 


they  looked  up  and  gazed  with  mute  astonishment 
on  the  roaring  stream  as  it  tumbled,  in  wild  confu- 
sion, down  forty  feet  into  a  dark  gulf,  called  by  the 
unattractive  name  of  the  Devil's  Caldron. 

"We  have  seen  nothing  equal  to  this  since  we 
were  at  the  Clove  in  the  Katzkills,"  observed  Edith, 
slightly  shivering  as  she  added,  "  but  I  don't  like 
the  name  of  this  gulf.  I  think  that  unpronounce- 
able Indian  name  you  spoke  of,  uncle,  every  way 
preferable." 

"  Yes,  Di-on-ou-deh-o-wa  is  more  pleasing  in  sound 
than  Devil's  Caldron,"  replied  the  colonel,  "and,  as 
we  don't  know  its  meaning,  it  cannot  be  as  dis- 
agreeably suggestive  as  the  other,  which  represents 
our  conception  of  every  thing  that  is  evil  in  char- 
acter, motive,  and  purpose — but  let  us  clamber  back 
into  the  light,  and  trace  this  fall  back  through  the 
narrow  chasm,  which  shuts  it  in  for  some  distance, 
to  where  it  flows  with  a  more  gentle  and  natural 
movement."  * 

As  you  may  easily  imagine,  there  was  merriment 
enough  to  balance  the  fatigue  as  they  clambered  up 
the  precipice,  laughing  and  joking  at  each  other's 
mishaps.  Then,  after  rambling  awhile  up  the  val- 
ley, they  returned  to  their  carriage,  and  were  driven 
back  to  Schuylerville. 


2^2         Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 


The  rapids  at  Fort  Miller. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

FROM   THE   BATTENKILL  TO   LAKE   GEORGE. 
jPHE  next  morning  our  tourists  again  resumed 


vK3 

Q*y»  their  drive  up  the  river  to  Fort  Edward.  On 
their  way  they  stopped  to  take  note  of  the  rapids 
opposite  Fort  Miller,  a  fort  in  the  times  of  the 
French  and  Indian  wars,  but  now  a  thrifty  village, 
fearless  of  Indian  tomahawks,  and  dreading  no 
greater  outward  evil  than  a  reverse  in  the  manufac- 
turing world. 

As  our  travelers  stood  gazing  on  the  foaming 
waters  of  the  Hudson,  dashing  with  headlong  speed 
down  a  fall  of  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  in  "  the  course 
of  eighty  rods,"  and  over  a  bed  of  rough,  uneven 
rocks,  Miss  Jennie  remarked, — 

"  I  should  like  to  see  a  boat  shoot  down  those 
rapids ! '' 

"  Not  with  a  human  being  in  it,  I  hope,  Miss 
Jennie,"  replied  Clarence. 

"Why  not,  sir?"  retorted  the  spirited  girl. 

"  Because  he  would  be  sure  to  lose  his  life,  miss," 
rejoined  Clarence. 

"That's  not  so  sure,  sir,"  said  Jennie,  with  an  air 


From  the  Bat  ten  kill  to  Lake  George.  233 

A  deed  of  daring. 

of  triumph.  "  Didn't  '  Old  Put,'  as  he  used  to  be 
called,  go  down  these  rapids  in  a  boat?" 

"  He  did,  my  dear,"  replied  the  colonel.  "  But 
he  did  it  to  escape  a  worse  death  than  drowning. 
He  was  out  scouting.  Having  separated  from  his 
party,  the  Indians  surprised  him  alone  in  his  boat, 
near  the  eastern  shore.  He  saw  that  if  he  tried  to 
row  across  the  stream  their  rifles  would  end  his  life. 
Then,  without  hesitation,  he  boldly  pushed  his  boat 
into  the  whirling  rapids.  Away  she  flew,  leaping 
over  the  rocks,  spinning  round  the  eddies,  dashing 
through  the  foam.  But  Putnam  bore  a  charmed 
life,  and  while  the  Indians  stood  transfixed  with 
wonder  at  a  deed  they  dared  not  imitate,  he  reached 
the  calm  water  below  in  safety.  They  did  not  even 
point  a  rifle  at  him,  lest  they  should  offend  the  Great 
Spirit  by  whom,  as  they  believed,  he  was  so  wonder- 
fully protected.  Nevertheless,  I  question  whether 
Israel  Putnam  would  have  ventured  the  descent  ex- 
cept for  the  purpose  of  escaping  death  by  savage 
hands." 

"  But  what  one  man  did  another  might  do,  uncle  ?  " 
said  the  persistent  Jennie. 

"  He   might,"   rejoined   her  uncle  dryly,   "  but   1 

should  advise  him  not  to  try  it,  unless  he  was,  like 

Putnam,  within  the  range  of  an  Indian's  rifle." 

Seven  miles  more  riding,  along  a  charmingly  pict- 
20* 


234         Summer  Days  ox  the  Hudson. 


Fort  Edward. 


A  flourishing  seminary. 


uresque  road,  brought  them  to  the  village  of  Fort 
Edward,  on  the  east  side  of  the  Hudson,  where  they 
proposed  to  stay  until  after  dinner. 


To  obtain  a  good  view  of  this  busy  village  they 
walked  to  the  end  of  the  bridge  which  connects 
Roger's  Island  with  the  west  shore  of  the  Hudson. 
The  view  they  pronounced  "  delightful."  The  most 
commanding  edifice  in  the  village  was  the  colossal 
building  of  the  flourishing  Seminary  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church. 

They  visited  the  few  remains  of  the  fort,  which 
was   of   great    importance,    the    colonel    told    them, 


From  the  Battenkill  to  Lake  George.         235 

A  barracks  on  fire.  A  powder  magazine  .saved. 

both  in  the  old  French  and  Indian  wars  and  during 
the  Revolution.  A  few  logs  and  some  traces  of 
trenches  were  the  only  relics  to  be  seen  of  the  scene 
of  strifes,  in  which  many  brave  men  once  measured 
their  strength  in  deadly  conflict. 

While  they  stood  among  these  relics  the  colonel 
related  another  instance  of  Israel  Putnam's  daring 
when  the  barracks  of  this  fort  took  fire.  Putnam, 
hearing  the  cry  of  fire,  crossed  on  the  ice  from 
Roger's  Island  with  his  men,  and  took  post  on  a 
ladder  placed  against  a  building  next  to  the  powder 
magazine.  There  he  stood,  pouring  the  buckets  of 
water  brought  by  his  men  from  the  river,  until  the 
roof  of  the  building  gave  way.  Even  then  he  would 
not  give  up,  but  took  his  stand  between  the  blazing 
ruins  and  the  magazine,  which  a  single  spark  or  a 
burning  cinder  might  explode  in  a  moment.  Amid 
showers  of  sparks  the  brave  man  stood,  casting  the 
water,  as  fast  as  brought  to  him,  upon  the  magazine, 
until  the  flames  were  subdued,  and  that  structure, 
with  the  remainder  of  the  fort,  saved.  Then  the 
unconquerable  Putnam  emerged  from  the  smoke 
amid  the  hurras  of  his  comrades,  but  with  his  body 
so  badly  burned  that  he  had  to  spend  a  month  in 
the  hospital  before  he  was  fit  for  further  duty. 

In  the  afternoon  they  stopped  on  their  route  to 
Glen's  Falls  to  visit  the  grave  of  the  unfortunate 


236        Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 


Imposing  falls. 


An  embloin. 


Jenny  M'Crea,  and  also  to  view  the  scenery  round 
Baker's  Falls. 

These  falls  they  found  very  imposing.     Here  the 
river,  four  hundred  feet  wide,  descends  about  eighty 


It  AKKIl'S    1    MIS. 


feet  in  the  course  of  a  mile,  and  is  broken  by  the 
masses  of  rocks  which  impede  its  course  into  foam- 
ing cascades  and  rushing  torrents.  The}'  spent  an 
hour  or  more  watching  with  unabated  interest  the 
restless  waters  which  poured  down  from  above  with 
unceasing  velocity,  "an  emblem,"  Mrs.  Stuart  said, 
"  of  tin-  How  of  the  eternal  years." 

In  a  beautiful  cemetery  half  way  between  Sandy 
Hill  and  F<>rt   Edward,  they  stood  before  a  grave  at 


From  the  Battenkill  to  Lake  George.         237 

In  a  cemetery.  Jenny  M'Crea. 

the  head  of  which  they  saw  a  plain  marble  stone, 
six  feet  high,  containing  the  following  inscription  : — 

"  Here  rest  the  remains  of  Jane  M'Crea,  aged  17, 
made  captive  and  murdered  by  a  band  of  Indians, 
while  on  a  visit  to  a  relative  in  the  neighborhood, 
A.  D.  1777.  To  commemorate  one  of  the  most 
thrilling  incidents  in  the  annals  of  the  American 
Revolution,  to  do  justice  to  the  fame  of  the  gallant 
British  officer  to  whom  she  was  affianced,  and  as  a 
simple  tribute  to  the  memory  of  the  departed,  this 
stone  is  erected  by  her  niece,  Sarah  Hannah  Payne, 
A.D.  1852." 

As  our  tourists  drove  through  the  beautiful  vil- 
lage of  Sandy  Hill  toward  Glen's  Falls,  they  talked 
over  the  sad  fate  of  the  beautiful  Miss  M'Crea,  the 
substance  of  whose  story  I  will  now  relate. 

Miss  Jenny  M'Crea  wras  the  daughter  of  a  Scotch 
Presbyterian  minister.  She  was  a  beautiful,  intelli- 
gent, graceful  girl,  so  attractive  in  person  and  dis- 
position as  to  be  universally  beloved  wherever  known. 
She  was  visiting  a  tory  lady  in  Fort  Edward  at  the 
time  Burgoyne's  army  approached,  where,  it  seems, 
she  betrothed  herself  to  a  young  officer  in  the  En- 
glish army.  Influenced,  no  doubt,  by  this  affection, 
she  refused  to  accompany  her  brother,  who  lived 
near  by,  when  he  fled  before  the  invading  army,  but 
Remained  with  her  tory  friends. 


238         Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 

Jenny  M'Orea'a  tragic  death.  A  faithful  lover. 

While  Burgoyne  was  yet  at  Sandy  Hill,  a  party 
of  savages,  seeking  captives,  for  which  the  English 
general  paid  them  liberal  bounties,  suddenly  entered 
the  abode  of  Jenny's  friend,  and  carried  off  both 
ladies,  intending  to  take  them  to  the  English  camp. 
A  negro  ran  to  the  fort  and  alarmed  the  garrison. 
A  detachment  of  soldiers  was  sent  after  the  savages 
and  their  fair  prisoners.  They  overtook  and  fired 
on  them.  The  Indians  were  untouched,  but  one  of 
the  musket  balls  mortally  wounded  the  beautiful 
Miss  M'Crea.  The  savages,  seeing  they  had  lost 
their  prisoner,  hastily  cut  off  her  scalp,  and  hastened 
with  it  to  the  camp.  The  tory  friend,  who  had 
already  arrived,  recognized  the  bleeding  scalp  by 
the  great  length  and  beauty  of  the  tresses  attach- 
ed to  it.  Jenny's  body  was  first  buried  on  her 
brother's  farm,  was  reintcrred  at  Fort  Edward,  in 
1826,  with  imposing  ceremonies,  and  finally  placed 
in  the  cemetery  where  it  will  repose  undisturbed, 
let  us  hope,  until  the  morning  of  the  resurrection. 

Jenny's  lover  was  so  profoundly  grieved  by  the 
tragic  end  of  his  betrothed  that  he  threw  up  his 
commission,  removed  to  Canada,  and  lived  a  soli- 
tary single  life.  Though  he  lived  to  be  an  old  man, 
he  never  recovered  his  spirits. 

The  conversation  upon  the  sad  fate  of  this  beauti- 
ful  maiden  filled  Up  the  time  occupied  by  the  drive 


From  the  Battcnkill  to  Lake  George 


239 


A  waterfall  quaintly  described. 


from  Sandy  Hill  to  Glen's  Falls.  At  the  former 
place  they  noticed  the  "  magnificent  sweep "  by 
which  the  Hudson  changes  its  "  course  from  an 
easterly  to  a  southerly  direction;"  at  the  latter  vil- 
lage their  attention  was  engaged  by  its  falls,  so 
admirably  described  by  Hawkeye  in  Cooper's 
11  Last  of  the  Mohicans."  He  quaintly  says  of  what 
he,  not  unaptly,  calls  the  perversity  of  the  water : — 


GLEN'S   FALLS. 


"  It  falls  by  no  rule  at  all.  Sometimes  it  leaps, 
sometimes  it  tumbles;  there  it  skips,  here  it  shoots; 
in  one  place  'tis  white  as  snow,  and  in  another  'tis 
green  as  grass ;  hereabouts  it  pitches  into  deep  hoi- 


240        Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 

The  falls— Chepontuc,  Wing-,  or  Glen  ? 

lows,  that  rumble  and  quake  the  'arth,  and  there- 
away it  ripples  and  sings  like  a  brook,  fashioning 
whirlpools  and  gullies  in  the  old  stone  as  if  'twere 
no  harder  than  trodden  clay.  The  whole  design  of 
the  river  seems  disconcerted.  First  it  runs  smooth- 
ly, as  if  meaning  to  go  down  the  descent  as  things 
were  ordered  ;  then  it  angles  about  and  faces  the 
shores ;  nor  are  there  places  wanting  where  it  looks 
backward,  as  if  unwilling  to  leave  the  wilderness  to 
mingle  with  the  salt!" 

Our  tourists  did  not  find  these  curious  falls  quite 
up  to  this  quaint  yet  poetic  description,  on  account 
of  the  comparatively  small  volume  of  water  then 
flowing  over  them.  They  were  amused  on  being 
told  by  a  fellow-visitor  how  the  Falls  acquired  their 
present  name.  The  Indians  called  them  Chc-pon- 
tuc}  signifying  a  difficult  place  to  get  round.  The 
white  settlers  named  them  Wing's  Falls,  after  a  sol- 
dier named  Abraham  Wing.  Years  after,  a  son  of 
this  man,  while  at  a  convivial  party,  agreed  to  trans- 
fer his  right  to  name  the  falls  to  John  Glen,  on  con- 
dition that  the  latter  gentleman  would  pay  for  the 
supper  of  the  company.  Glen  forthwith  posted 
hand-bills  all  along  the  road  from  the  settlement  to 
Albany  announcing  the  new  name,  which,  being 
readily  accepted  by  the  people,  has  designated  them 
ever  since 


From  the  Battcnkill  to  Lake  George.         241 

Worthless  celebrity.  Jesuit's  Falls. 


"  Why,  that  Wing  fellow  was  a  regular  Esau  !  " 
exclaimed  Clarence. 

"  And  threw  away  his  chance  of  making  his  name 
immortal  on  earth,"  added  Edith. 

"  I  don't  think  that  was  a  very  serious  loss,"  said 
Arthur.  "What  good  is  it  to  Glen  now  that  his 
name  is  attached  to  these  falls?  And  will  not  the 
story  of  their  sale  carry  Wing's  name  as  far  down 
the  stream  of  time  as  the  waters  will  carry  Glen's  ? 
Besides,  what  does  the  whole  affair  show  more  than 
that  both  Wing  and  Glen  were  drinking  roys- 
terers  ?  Pshaw !  I  wouldn't  give  a  pebble  from  the 
foot  of  this  fall  for  such  immortality!" 

The  whole  party  laughed  most  heartily  at  Ar- 
thur's speech.     The  colonel  responded  by  saying: — 

"  Really,  my  boy,  I  was  not  aware  that  you  were 
so  much  of  a  philosopher — but  let  us  away.  By 
driving  smartly  we  may  reach  Jesup's  Falls  before 
sundown." 

Pausing  on  their  way  to  see  the  great  dam  and 
boom  which  span  the  Hudson,  and  hold  back  the 
logs  sent  down  from  the  wilderness,  a  few  miles 
above  Glen's  Falls,  they  pushed  on  between  lofty 
hills,  through  scenery  which  was  sometimes  pictur- 
esque, then  rugged  and  grand,  but  rarely  tame.  It 
was  too  near  dusk  when  they  reached  the  foot  of 

Jesup's   Great   Falls   to  permit  them  to  stop.     So 
21 


242 


Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 


The  borders  of  the  Adirondack  region. 


they  drove   on   to  the  village  beyond,  where  they 
spent  the  night. 


KAH-OUE-BON-COOK,   OR  JKSUP'8  GREAT  FALLS. 

They  were  now  fairly  on  their  way  to  the  wilder- 
ness. They  had  entered  the  borders  of  that  great 
Adirondack  region,  which  includes  a  tract  of  coun- 
try equal  in  size  to  the  State  of  Connecticut,  stretch- 
ing away  from  Lakes  George  and  Champlain  on  the 
east,  to  the  St.  Lawrence  on  the  north  and  west, 
and  reaching  from  the  Canada  line  on  the  north, 
to  Booneville  on  the  south.  It  is  the  paradise  of 
sportsmen,  and  the  delight  of  such  tourists  as  love 
nature  in  her  own  proper  guise,  and  who  are  willing 

to  dispense  with   the 


uxurious    elegances    of    the 


From  the  Battcnkill  to  Lake  George.         243 

A  grand  fall.  Mouth  of  the  Sacandaga. 

modern  hotel,  and  put  up  with  plenty,  unadorned  by 
the  graces  of  art  at  such  places  of  entertainment  as 
they  may  find.  Our  travelers  had  made  up  their 
minds  to  endure  cheerfully  whatever  privations 
they  might  be  called  to  suffer,  as  the  price  of 
enjoying  the  wild  scenery  of  the  Upper  Hudson, 
and  of  increasing  their  strength  by  inhaling  the 
pure  air  of  the  mountain  and  forest,  and  by  the 
toil  of  rough,  but  not  too  severe,  travel. 

Jessup's  Great  Falls,  or  Kah-cJie-bon-cook,  as  the 
Indians  called  them,  engaged  their  attention  the 
next  morning.  A  "grand  fall,"  they  pronounced 
it,  truly  enough.  It  extends  more  than  a  mile,  in 
the  course  of  which  the  river  descends  some  one 
hundred  and  twenty  feet,  rushing,  in  some  places, 
through  deep  rocky  chasms  and  over  lofty  precipices. 

After  viewing  these  fascinating  falls,  they  drove 
several  miles  along  the  river  bank,  to  a  point  where 
the  active  Sacandaga  shakes  hands  with  the  Hudson, 
which,  at  that  point,  flows  sluggishly  along,  as  if 
taking  rest  preparatory  to  its  gigantic  leaps  at  Kah- 
che-bon-cook  below. 

As  our  tourists  re-entered  their  carriage  after 
strolling  for  an  hour  round  the  mouth  of  the  Sacan- 
daga, rain  began  to  fall.  Driving  as  rapidly  as  was 
consistent  with  mercy  to  their  horses,  they  soon 
reached  a  hotel  which  they  found  on  the  banks  of 


244 


Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 


Charming  cascades. 


A  rainy  afternoon. 


the  Hudson,  at  a  point  where  Luzerne  Lake  tum- 
bles in  charming  cascades  over  a  steep  bluff  into  the 
river  below.  The  Indians  named  this  spot  Tia-sa- 
ron-da,  or,  The  Meeting  of  the  Waters. 


CONFLUENCE   OF  THE   UUDSON    AM)    hACANlJAli  A. 

The  rain  detained  them  over  that  and  the  ensu- 
ing day,  which  was  the  Sabbath.  But  they  were  in 
an  excellent  inn,  they  wrote  up  their  notes  of  their 
journey  that  afternoon,  they  heard  good,  faithful 
preaching  in  the  village  on  Sunday,  and  therefore 
had  no  cause  to  complain  or  fret.  On  Monday 
morning    they    sallied    out,    visited    the    falls,    and 


From  the  Battenkill  to  Lake  George.         245 


A  long  leap. 


Off  to  Lake  Geonce. 


viewed  the  high  banks  at  their  foot,  where,  tradition 
said,  an  Indian  messenger  to  the  English  General 
Burgoyne,  when  pursued  by  some  patriots,  leaped 
twenty-five   feet   across   and   escaped.     Then,   after 


LUZERNE    LAKE. 


spending  a  pleasant  morning  amid  the  attractive 
scenery  of  Luzerne,  they  departed  for  Lake  George, 
where  they  intended  to  remain  a  few  days,  to  re- 
cruit themselves,  before  penetrating  the  depths  of 

the  Adirondack  wilderness. 
21* 


246        Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 

Eest  after  toil. 


CHAPTER   XV. 

EROM  LAKE  GEORGE  TO  THE  PEAK  OF  TAHAWUS. 


JjTTN   going  to   Lake  George  our  tourists  left  the 


^K  valley  of  the  Hudson  at  Luzerne,  and  drove 
eleven  miles  through  a  thickly  wooded,  picturesque, 
and  partially  cultivated  country.  Their  reasons  for 
this  were,  that  the  scenery  of  the  valley  between 
Warrensburgh  and  Luzerne  is  "  not  particularly  in- 
teresting," and  that  the  younger  members  of  the 
party  were  desirous  of  spending  a  few  days  at  that 
popular  place  of  resort  for  summer  visitors.  In 
harmony  with  this  part  of  their  plan,  they  had  for- 
warded the  principal  part  of  their  baggage  from 
Troy  to  the  care  of  mine  host  of  that  magnificent 
caravansera,  the  Fort  William  Henry  Hotel. 

Their  somewhat  fatiguing,  but  health-giving  travel 
since  leaving  Troy,  had  prepared  them  to  enjoy  the 
luxurious  living  of  this  fashionable  spot,  and,  for  a 
day  or  two,  they  lost  somewhat  of  their  enthusiasm 
for  fine  scenery,  and  for  ascertaining  the  historical 
and  traditional  incidents  associated  with  particular 
localities.  But  their  minds  were  too  vigorous  and 
healthy  to  be  long  satisfied  with  the  monotony  of 


From  Lake  George  to  the  Peak  of  Tahawus,     247 

Historic  associations  of  Lake  George. 

the  lounging,  hum-drum  life  led  by  most  of  the 
visitors.  Hence,  the  young  folk,  after  a  few  days 
of  idleness,  besought  the  colonel  to  lead  them  to 
the  varied  points  of  historic  interest  in  the  vicinity. 

This  he  gladly  did,  for  much  as  he  enjoyed  fine 
views,  it  was  the  human  interests  connected  with 
places  which  most  affected  him.  And  after  he  had 
recalled  the  fierce  struggles  between  Huron  and 
Mohawk,  Frenchman  and  Englishman,  Tory  and 
Patriot,  which  had  taken  place  in  the  not-very-dis- 
tant past  on  the  shores  of  this  transparent  little 
sheet  of  water,  Arthur  only  expressed  what  all  the 
others  felt  when  he  said, — ■ 

"  Lake  George  seems  like  another  place  since  you 
have  related  these  facts,  sir." 

"Yes,"  added  Edith,  "for  now  when  I  look  out 
upon  the  lake  I  almost  expect  to  see  a  fleet  of  Hu- 
ron canoes,  coming  to  make  war  on  the  Mohawks, 
in  the  woods  behind  us." 

"  And  I,"  said  Clarence,  "  am  ever  fancying  I 
hear  the  war-whoop  of  the  Indian  or  the  rattle  of 
musketry." 

"  Not  very  charming  fancies,  I  confess,"  replied 
the  colonel ;  "  nor  are  they  wholly  repulsive,  if 
we  consider  their  moral  significance.  The  mutual 
slaughters  among  the  Indians  thinned  their  num- 
bers, and  made  it  less  difficult  for  civilized  men  to 


248         Summer  Days  ox  the  Hudson. 

Significance  of  the  old  wars.       ,  Strokes  and  counter-strokes. 

occupy  a  country  the  savages  never  would  have 
improved.  The  strifes  between  the  lion  flag  of  En- 
gland and  the  lilies  of  France  gave  these  broad 
lands  to  Protestantism ;  the  contests  of  the  red- 
coats and  the  patriots  helped  to  make  this  great 
continent  a  broad  arena  in  which  freedom  might 
fight  its  battles,  and  prove  to  the  nations  that  vast 
masses  of  men  can  be  self-governed — that  the  ballot 
is  better  for  all  parties  than  the  bayonet." 

"  I  never  looked  at  these  old  wars  in  this  light  be- 
fore," replied  Jennie,  with  a  gravity  so  unusual  for 
her  that  it  excited  a  smile,  and  Clarence  laughingly 
remarked  to  the  colonel, — 

"  I  really  think,  sir,  that  Miss  Jennie  will  turn 
into  a  philosopher  before  we  get  through  with  our 
tour." 

"There  is  just  as  much  danger  of  that  as  there  is 
of  your  becoming  a  wit"  retorted  Jennie  with  a 
most  withering  glance  at  Clarence. 

"You  are  fairly  hit  now,  Clarence,"  said  Arthur, 
laughing. 

"  I  acknowledge  it,"  replied  the  young  man  ;  and 
then  looking  meaningly  at  Jennie,  he  added,  "  I  will 
let  the  arrow  stay  in  the  wound  as  young  ladies  do 
when  wounded  with  shafts  from  Cupid's  bow." 

Jennie  blushed  and  frowned  under  this  scarcely 
courteous  counter-stroke.     She  was  about  t<<  reply, 


From  Lake  George  to  the  Peak  of  Tahawus.     249 


In  the  wilderness. 


A  sweet  scene. 


when  Mrs.  Stuart,  after  shaking  her  finger  at  Clar- 
ence, asked  the  colonel, — 

"  When  shall  we  resume  our  exploration  of  the 
Hudson?  " 

The  colonel  named  the  following  Monday,  to  the 
satisfaction  of  all.  And  when  Monday  morning  ar- 
rived they  started  in  high  spirits  for  Warrensburgh, 
over  a  plank-road,  through  a  hilly  country.     Here, 


CONFLUENCE   OF   THE   HUDSON    AND    SCARRON. 


at  noon,  they  arrived,  often  pausing  on  their  way 

to  enjoy  what  Edith  said  was  "one  of  the  sweetest 

scenes  on  the  whole  river."     It  was  the  confluence 
11* 


250         Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 

A  monstrous  pile  of  rocks. 

of  the  Hudson  with  the  Scarron.  This  river  is 
called  Schroon  on  the  maps.  This  is  a  corruption 
of  Scarron,  the  name  given  to  a  beautiful  lake  and 
river  by  the  French,  in  honor  of  the  widow  of  the 
poet  Scarron,  but  who  is  better  known  as  Madame 
de  Maintenon. 

This  scene  was  in  a  delightful  little  valley.  The 
waters  met  at  a  lovely  spot  shaded  by  elms  and 
other  spreading  trees,  and  formed  a  picture  of  beau- 
ty and  repose  in  strong  contrast  with  the  rugged 
hills  around. 

"What  a  monstrous  pile  of  rocks!"  exclaimed 
Arthur,  pointing  to  a  craggy  elevation  on  the  north 
side  of  the  valley. 

"That  is  called  the  Thunder's  Nest,"  replied  the 
colonel,  "  probably  because  the  Indians,  who  knew 
nothing  of  electricity,  supposed  that  thunder  was  pro- 
duced by  spirits  who  haunted  lofty  isolated  spots." 

Our  tourists  were  surprised  to  find  Warrensburgh 
a  thrifty  leather  manufacturing  village  on  the  banks 
of  the  Scarron,  and  near  the  borders  of  the  wilder- 
ness. As  they  had  thirty  miles  to  drive  before 
reaching  the  village  of  Scarron  Lake,  where  they 
intended  to  spend  the  night,  they  only  stopped  long 
enough  to  refresh  themselves  and  rest  their  horses. 
They  found  the  roads  running  through  a  rolling 
valley  in  which  the  scenery  was  much  diversified. 


From  Lake  George  to  the  Peak  of  Tahawus.     2  5  I 

An  aristocrat  in  the  woods.  In  the  forest. 

The  ride  was  delightful,  though  it  was  rather  long, 
and  their  team  was  evidently  much  fatigued  when 
they  arrived,  late  in  the  evening,  at  the  village. 

At  this  place  another  surprise  met  them  in  the 
morning.  They  found  a  tasteful  mansion,  called 
Isola  Bella,  built  on  an  island  on  the  lovely  Scar- 
ron  Lake,  and  occupied  by  a  Colonel  Ireland,  who 
traces  his  ancestry  back  to  one  of  the  bold  barons 
who  accompanied  William  the  Conqueror  from  Nor- 
mandy to  England.  They  had  not  expected  to  find 
such  a  scion  of  the  proud  old  British  aristocracy 
in  the  wilderness. 

Scarron  or  Schroon  Lake  delighted  them,  as  also 
did  Paradox  Lake,  in  its  neighborhood.  Ascending 
the  valley  a  few  miles,  they  reached  Root's  Inn  that 
evening,  where  they  found  several  sportsmen,  some 
of  whom  were  about  to  enter  the  wilderness,  while 
others  had  just  returned  from  it. 

Our  party  was  now  fairly  in  the  wilderness.  Be- 
yond Root's  they  found  the  roads  rough,  the  hills 
steep,  the  forest  vast  and  solitary,  its  deep  silence 
only  broken  by  the  sighing  of  the  restless  wind 
or  the  bubbling  of  the  laughing  brook.  Here  and 
there  they  saw  the  lonely  cabin  of  a  settler.  At 
some  points  the  top  of  a  lofty  hill  afforded  a  grand 
view,  which  amply  repaid  for  the  toil  of  the  ascent  to 
it.     As  they   advanced  the   roads  became  rougher 


2^2 


Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 


Rough  riding. 


Merriment. 


and  rougher,  but  the  air,  every-where  pure  and  redo- 
lent of  the  scent  of*  the  pine,  the  hemlock,  and  the 
balsam,  was  delicious  and  invigorating.  They  en- 
joyed the  drive.  Nevertheless  they  were  not  sorry 
when  they  reached  the  Tahawus  House,  where  they 
concluded  to  remain  until  the  next  day. 

Here  they  found  it  necessary  to  change  their 
team,  and  to  procure  guides  who  should  accom- 
pany them  in  their  further  explorations.  Their  next 
day's  ride  was  over  a  corduroy  road,  that  is,  a  road 
built  of  logs,  and  a  more  jolting,  jamming  ride  none 
of  them,  the  colonel  only  excepted,  had  ever  expe- 
rienced.    But,  inspired  by  the  invigorating  air,  and 


ADll-.ONDA.   K     \  11.1. \<;r 


accepting  their  disagreeables  with  merriment,  they 
found  health,  if  not  absolute  enjoyment,  in  it.  Never 
perhaps  had  any  of  them  eaten  with  richer  gusto,  or 


From  Lake  George  to  the  Peak  of  Takawus,     253 

A  forsaken  village.  Transformations. 

slept  more  sweetly,  than  they  did  that  night  at 
Adirondack  village. 

This  almost  forsaken  village  was  made  their  head- 
quarters, from  whence  they  proposed  to  sally  forth 
on  foot,  and  in  suitable  garments,  to  visit  the  most 
noticeable  scenery  of  this  interesting  region,  which 
has  been  very  fitly  named  by  its  admirers,  "The 
Switzerland  of  America." 

There  was  no  little  fun  among  them  when  they 
first  met,  after  dinner,  arrayed  in  their  wilderness 
attire.  The  gentlemen  had  on  hunting  shirts,  coarse 
pantaloons,  huge  heavy  boots,  felt  hats,  and  stout 
buckskin  gloves.  The  ladies,  still  more  metamor- 
phosed, appeared  in  short  woolen  dresses,  hoods,  and 
capes,  stout  boots  reaching  to  the  knees,  and  gloves 
with  gauntlets  fastened  above  the  elbows.  For  a  few 
moments  witticisms  flew  about  like  leaves  in  an 
autumn  storm,  but  in  a  short  time  the  fitness  of 
their  costumes  to  the  work  before  them  was  so 
obvious  that  they  ceased  to  laugh,  and  gave  them- 
selves to  the  task  of  following  their  guides. 

This  task  was  by  no  means  a  light  one,  for  their 
way,  after  crossing  the  Hudson  by  a  rude  bridge, 
led  through  a  tangled  growth  of  wild  raspberry 
bushes,  and  then  up  a  winding  mountain  path  across 
which  lay  many  a  noble  pine,  killed  by  the  winter's 
blast  or  by  the  lightning's  stroke.     Boulders  covered 


254 


Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 


Camping  out. 


with  green  moss  were  also  sunk  in  the  soil.  Over 
these  obstacles  they  had  to  climb,  and  they  were 
not  sorry  when  they  reached  a  lovely  little  lake  to 


FIRST    BKIDGE   OVKR    THE    HUDSON. 

hear  their  guides  say  the}'  would  camp  there  for  the 
night. 

"  Camp  here!"  exclaimed  Jennie,  with  a  scornful 
twist  of  her  rosy  lips,  "  why,  where  in  the  world  are 
we  to  sleep  !  " 

The  guides  soon  answered  that  question  by  pro- 
ceeding to  erect  a  cabin  of  poles  and  bark,  which 
they  divided,  by  hanging  up  a  blanket,  into  two 
parts,  one  for  the  ladies,  and  the  other  for  the  gen- 
tlemen. For  beds  they  cut  a  quantity  of  hemlock 
boughs,  which  the  guides  laughingly  assured  the 
ladies  were  "a  sight  easier  and  sweeter  to  sleep  on 
than  hoss  hair  or  goose  feathers." 


From  Lake  George  to  the  Peak  of  Takawus.     255 


A  delicious  supper  in  the  woods. 


While  one  of  the  guides  was  giving  the  finishing 
strokes  to  the  cabin,  the  other  was  off  on  a  rude  raft 
fishing  for  trout  in  the  lake.     On  his  return  with  a 


BARK   CABIN  AT   CALAMITY   POND. 


plentiful  supply  of  that  delicious  fish,  supper  was 
prepared  upon  the  clean  grass. 

"  This  isn't  quite  up  to  the  style  of  the  Fort 
William  Henry  House,  is  it,  Clarence?"  asked  Ar- 
thur, as  he  was  rubbing  the  grease  from  his  fin- 
gers in  the  fresh  grass. 

"  Not  quite.  But  you  never  eat  such  trout  as 
these  anywhere  else,  eh,  Arthur?"  responded  Clar- 
ence, smacking  his  lips  by  way  of  giving  epicurean 
emphasis  to  his  words. 

"  Nor  such  slapjacks,"  added  Jennie. 


256        Summer  Days  ox  the  Hudson. 

A  pleasant  dispute.  A  sad  story. 

Then  a  pleasant  dispute  arose  as  to  whether  it 
was  the  superior  quality  of  the  trout  and  slapjacks 
or  the  sharpness  of  their  appetites  which  made  their 
supper  so  relishable.  This  point  was  never  settled, 
I  believe,  because  the  dispute  was  broken  off  by  the 
sad  story  which  led  the  beautiful  lake  at  their  feet 
to  be  named  "  Calamity  Pond." 

They  were  told  by  the  guides  that  about  thirty 
years  since,  when  the  iron  works  at  Adirondack 
village  were  in  operation,  Mr.  David  Henderson, 
one  of  the  Iron  Company,  went  out  on  the  lake 
in  a  scow.  In  landing  he  tried  to  place  his  pistol 
on  a  flat  rock  near  the  margin  of  the  lake,  holding 
the  muzzle  in  his  hand.  By  some  means  it  went 
off,  and  the  ball  entered  his  body,  making  a  mortal 
wound  of  which  he  died  in  half  an  hour.  His  body 
was  sent  to  his  home  in  Jersey  City,  N.  J.,  and  his 
friends,  at  great  cost,  erected  an  elegant  sandstone 
monument  upon  the  rock  where  he  perished. 

The  relation  of  this  story  was  followed  by  that 
of  others  from  their  wide-awake  guides,  respect- 
ing adventures  both  comic  and  tragic  in  the  forests. 
These  stories  occupied  their  attention  very  agreea- 
bly until  the  gathering  gloom  warned  them  that  it 
was  time  to  seek  repose  upon  their  hemlock  couches 
within  the  cabin.  The  young  ladies  protested  that 
"  tluy  should  not    sleep  a  wink  on  such  a  bed,"  but 


From  Lake  George  to  the  Peak  of  Ta/iawus.     257 

First  forest  toilet.  A  hunter's  trail. 

when  they  appeared  next  morning  with  faces  rosy 
and  fresh,  Clarence  jocosely  suggested  that  "  they 
must  have  slept  without  winking." 

While  their  good-natured  guides  prepared  a  break- 
fast of  trout,  slapjacks,  crackers,  and  coffee,  our 
tourists  continued  to  make  their  first  forest  toilet 
on  the  shore  of  the  lake.  If  it  ^vas  not  done  as 
tastefully  as  in  an  elegant  boudoir,  it  was  certainly 
performed  with  more  merriment.  The  young  men 
offered  all  sorts  of  inflated  compliments  to  the  fair 
dryads,  as  they  facetiously  named  their  laughing 
cousins,  and  were  paid  in  return  with  mock  protests 
against  their  attentions,  which  the  young  ladies,  be- 
ing "  nymphs  of  the  woods,"  could  not  condescend 
to  receive  from  such  "  uncouth  ogres."  Thus,  if 
they  did  not  partake  of  a  "  feast  of  reason"  before 
breakfast,  they  sharpened  each  other's  wits  and  sat 
down  to  their  rustic  breakfast  with  flashing  eyes  and 
with  appetites,  as  Arthur  put  it,  "  sharp  as  the 
hooks  which  had  brought  the  delicious  trout  to  their 
frying-pan." 

Breakfast  being  over,  they  resumed  their  journey 

toward   Mount  Tahawus.     Their  road  was  nothing 

but  a  hunter's  trail.     It  was  not  easily  seen  except 

by  the  practical  eyes  of  their  guides.     It  was,  as 

Arthur  said,  "  a  very  hard  road  to  travel."     But  the 

pure,   bracing  air  enabled  them   to   laugh  at  diffi- 
22* 


258 


Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 


Beautiful  cascades. 


culties  and  to  press  on.  Presently  they  came  to 
a  pretty  little  stream,  the  Opalescent  River,  at 
a  point  where  it  receives  the  waters  of  Lake 
t  ^=*=  Colden,    glimpses    of 

It  k  '■  which  they  caught  oc- 
casionally through  the 
trees. 

The  stream  they 
found  to  consist  of  a 
series  of  rapids  and 
cascades,  here  leaping 
over  huge  boulders 
weighing  a  thousand 
tons  or  more,  and 
there  sweeping  across 
beds  of  smooth  glitter- 
ing pebbles  of  opales- 
cent feldspar,  of  which 
the  bed  of  the  stream 
was  full. 

"  How  beautiful  !  " 
exclaimed  Mrs.  Stu- 
art, pointing  to  a  shal- 
low spot  on  which  the 
SUIl  was  shining  in  fall  splendor.  "  Mark  the  rich 
colors  of  those  stones;  some  are  deep  bine,  others 
are  brilliant  green;   still  others  are  pearly  white.      I 


From  Lake  George  to  the  Peak  of  TaJiawns.     259 

The  Hanging  Spear.  At  the  foot  of  the  mountain. 

never  saw  any  thing  of  the  kind  so  exquisitely 
beautiful." 

In  saying  this,  she  only  expressed  what  all  the 
rest  felt.  By  and  by  they  came  to  a  spot  where  the 
river  fell  more  than  fifty  feet  between  a  narrow 
chasm  in  the  rock  into  a  gloomy  basin. 

"  That  is  grand  !  "  exclaimed  Arthur. 

"  It  must  be  a  glorious  sight  when  the  stream  is 
full,"  added  Clarence. 

"  The  Indians,  always  poetical  in  naming  natural 
objects,  call  this  fall  She-gwi-en-dawkwe,  or  The 
Hanging  Spear,"  observed  the  colonel,  "  and  it  does 
not  require  a  very  vivid  imagination  to  perceive  the 
fitness  of  the  name." 

Up  the  valley  of  the  Opalescent  our  tourists  slow- 
ly picked  their  way  to  the  foot  of  the  Peak  of  Ta- 
hawus.  It  took  them  over  four  hours  to  walk  six 
miles,  and  then,  to  refresh  themselves,  they  rested  in 
a  bark  camp  left  by  some  previous  tourists.  They 
were  now  in  a  wild,  solitary  spot  amid  stunted  trees, 
near  the  lair  of  the  wild  cat,  and  in  the  vicinity  of 
one  of  the  chief  springs  from  which  the  mighty 
Hudson  flows. 

To  climb  Mount  Tahawus  and  return  to  this 
camp  by  evening  was  their  task  for  the  afternoon. 
Their  guides  told  them  that  few  ladies  had  ever  at- 
tempted it ;  "  the  few  who  had  did  not  regret  it." 


26o 


Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 


Climbing  a  pathless  mountain. 


11  Then  we  will  attempt  it.  What  woman  has 
done  woman  can  do  again,"  replied  Mrs.  Stuart  in 
a  mock  heroic  tone,  intended  to  excite  the  merry 
laugh  which  it  caused. 


ms 


OLIMUl.NU    MO  OK' 


To  climb  two  miles  over  a  pathless  mountain  at 
an  angle  of  nearly  forty-five  degrees  is,  indeed,  no 
light  adventure,  as  our  tourists  soon  found.  But 
they  had  health,  energy,  pride  oi  character,  and 
strong  wills  to  sustain  them.  They  pressed  on,  now 
winding  round  a  moss-covered  boulder,  then  creep- 


From  Lake  George  to  the  Peak  of  Tahawus,   261 

On  the  Peak  of  Taliawus. 

ing  beneath  or  pushing  between  the  branches  of  the 
dwarf  pines  and  spruces  which  stood  in  their  path. 
Here  they  found  an  open  spot  where  the  wild  oxalis 
grew ;  there  they  crossed  a  grove  of  ancient  balsams 
a  hundred  years  old,  but  less  than  five  feet  high,  or 
walked  on  a  carpet  of  moss  and  lichen.  At  last 
they  rose  above  the  line  of  the  forest,  and  found 
themselves  on  steep  rocky  slopes  and  narrow  ledges 
along  which  they  had  to  creep  clinging  to  the  strong 
mosses  or  grasping  a  gnarled  shrub,  which  had  its 
roots  in  the  fissures  of  the  rock.  Glad  indeed  were 
they  when  they  lighted  upon  a  spring  of  very  cold 
water  which  trickled  from  the  mountain's  breast,  to 
aid  in  giving  birth  to  the  Hudson.  They  drank  its 
limpid  water  and  were  refreshed.  Then  on  again 
they  pressed,  cheered  by  the  shout  of  a  guide  who 
had  reached  the  peak,  until  they  found  themselves 
triumphantly  seated  on  the  bare  rock  which  forms 
the  summit  of  Tahawus,  "  the  Sky  Piercer,"  where 
they  were  some  six  thousand  feet  above  the  level 
of  that  sea  on  which  they  had  sailed  so  pleasantly 
a  few  weeks  before  in  the  .little  steam  yacht  which 
had  carried  them  to  Sandy  Hook. 

Here  they  found  a  hut  built  of  loose  stones  and 
covered  with  moss,  the  friendly  work  of  some  pre- 
vious tourists.  Under  the  lee  of  this  rude  structure 
they  sat  down  to  enjoy  the  vast  landscape  spread 


262 


Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 


An  almost  peerless  view. 


out  before  their  wondering. eyes.  Near  them  were 
Mounts  Colden  and  M'Intyre.  Beyond  these  Mounts 
Emmons  and  Seward,  Whiteface  Mountain,  and  the 


HOSPICE  ON  TI1K.  PEAK   OF  MOUNT  TAIIAU  I': 


Giant  of  the  Valley.  But  over  these  they  looked 
far  out  to  the  St.  Lawrence  valley  on  the  north  ;  on 
the  east  they  saw  the  ever  charming  Green  Mount- 
ains, and  beyond  the  gray  head  of  Mount  Wash- 
ington, the  king  of  the  White  Mountain  chain. 
Southward  rose  the  mysterious  Katzbergs  ;  while  Oil 
the  west  appeared  the  mountain  ranges  of  Herkimer 
and   Hamilton  Counties,  in  New  York. 

They  were  delighted  with  the  countless  variety 
of  objects  embraced  in  this  almost  peerless  \  irw  : 
Forests  that   seemed  boundless;  small   lakes  gleam- 


From  Lake  George  to  the  Peak  of  Tahawus.     263 

The  times  of  old.  Board  the  camp-fire. 

ing  amid  the  trees;  Lake  Champlain,  stretching 
one  hundred  and  forty  miles  to  the  eastward,  dot- 
ted with  white  sails ;  and  rivers  winding  like  silver 
threads  through  their  luxuriant  valleys. 

"  I  shall  never  forget  this,  as  long  as  I  live,"  said 
Jennie. 

"Nor  I!"  "  nor  I!"  added  the  others  in  quick 
succession. 

"  It  is  one  of  the  grandest  views  in  the  world," 
remarked  the  colonel. 

They  remained  on  the  Peak  of  Tahawus,  feasting 
on  its  scenery  and  talking  of  the  times  of  old,  when 
none  but  Indian  savages  roamed  -over  the  vast 
spaces  at  their  feet,  until  the  rapidly  increasing 
coolness  of  the  air  reminded  them  that  the  after- 
noon was  declining,  and  suggested  the  propriety  of 
their  descent  to  the  forest  below.  This  was  accom- 
plished in  far  less  time,  and  with  much  less  toil, 
than  the  ascent.  They  reached  their  bark  camp  at 
the  foot  of  the  mountain  in  good  season,  with  such 
an  appetite  for  their  simple  supper  as  most  of  them 
had  never  previously  possessed.  After  eating  "  vo- 
raciously," as  Edith  asserted,  they  sat  round  their 
camp-fire,  wondering  they  felt  so  little  fatigued  after 
such  unusual  exertion,  and  listening  to  stories  of 
war,  Indians,  and  hunters,  told  by  the  colonel  and 
the  guides,  far  into  the  evening. 


264        Summer  Days  ox  the  Hudson 

A  Sabbath  in  camp.  Lake  Colden. 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

FROM  TAHAWUS  TO  THE  END  OF  THE  TOUR. 

HP  HE  next  day  was  the  Sabbath,  which  they 
p^l  spent  quietly  and  thoughtfully  in  and  around 
their  camp,  reading  their  pocket  Testaments,  listen- 
ing at  intervals  to  the  colonel's  observations  on 
certain  passages,  and  attending  a  morning  and  even- 
ing prayer  and  singing  service,  which  he  conducted. 
On  Monday  morning,  after  partaking  of  a  rude 
breakfast,  heartily  enjoyed,  they  started  on  their 
return  down  the  Opalescent  Valley  to  Lake  Colden, 
which  lies  some  three  thousand  feet  above  tide 
water,  in  a  high  basin  formed  by  adjacent  mountain 
ranges. 

"Whew!  what  cold  water  this  is!"  exclaimed 
Arthur,  withdrawing  his  hand  from  the  margin  of 
the  lake.  "  I  should  think  the  fishes  would  have 
but  cold  comfort  here." 

'There  is  no  fish  in  this  'ere  lake;  nothing  but 
lizards  and  leeches,"  remarked  one  of  the  guides. 

"What,  no  trout?"  asked  Jennie,  looking  quite 
disappointed  at  the  prospect  of  eating  another  forest 
dinner  without  trout. 


From  TaJiawus  to  the  End  of  tht  Tour.       265 

The  return  to  head-quarters. 

"  No,  my  dear,  not  a  trout  swims  these  cold  wa- 
ters," replied  the  colonel.     "  This  spot  seems  conse- 


crated to  the  goddess  of  solitude  and   silence,  for 
birds  are  almost  as  scarce  as  fish." 

After  wandering  about  the  shores  of  this  lonely 
lake  at  their  own  sweet  will,  and  regaling  them- 
selves on  the  remains  of  their  supplies,  they  saun- 
tered slowly  back,  by  way  of  Calamity  Pond,  to  their 

head  quarters  in  Adirondack  village. 
23 


266        Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 

A  freak  of  Nature.  An  Indian's  discovery. 

They  were  fresh  enough,  after  a  brief  rest,  to  go 
out  toward  evening  to  see  the  Iron  Dam  that  Dame 
Nature,  in  one  of  her  freaks,  had  thrown  across  a 
stream  which  is  one  of  the  sources  of  the  Hudson. 
This  was  nothing  less  than  a  massive  dyke  of  iron, 
stretching  across  the  valley,  and  barring  in  the  wa- 
ters like  an  artificial  dam. 

"  This  is  wonderful !  "  exclaimed  the  colonel.  ''It 
seems  placed  here  to  attract  the  eyes  of  men,  and 
to  guide  them  to  the  measureless  quantities  of  iron 
ore  which  lie  hidden  in  the  bowels  of  these  everlast- 
ing hills." 

They  were  then  informed,  by  one  of  their  guides, 
that  the  mineral  riches  of  these  solitary  hills  were 
hidden  from  white  men's  eyes  until  about  fifty  years 
ago.  At  that  time  an  Indian  hunter  appeared  one 
day  at  some  iron  works  in  North  Elba.  Taking  a 
lump  of  iron  ore  from  beneath  his  blanket,  he 
mowed  it  to  a  Mr.  Henderson,  saying,  with  a  know- 
ing expression  in  his  eyes, — 

"You  want  to  see  'urn  ore?  Me  find  plenty — all 
same." 

"Where  did  it  come  from?"  asked  Henderson, 
with  an  assumed  air  of  Indifference. 

Pointing  t<>  the  SOUth-west  the  Indian  replied, 
••  Mr  hunt  beaver  .ill  'lone,  and  find  'um  where 
water  run  over  iron  dam." 


From  Tahawus  to  the  End  of  the  Tour.       267 

Enterprise  and  failure. 

Prompted  partly  by  curiosity  and  partly  by  the 
hope  of  gain,  Henderson  organized  an  exploring 
party,  followed   the   Indian,   found   the   Iron   Dam, 


THE    IRON    DAM. 


discovered  that  boundless  quantities  of  valuable 
ore  lay  waiting  the  skill  of  man,  procured  partners, 
purchased  the  lands,  and  established  iron  works  at 
an  outlay  of  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars.  The 
enterprise,  successful  at  first,  failed  in  1856,  owing 
partly  to  a  fearful  flood  which  devastated  many  of 


268        Summer  Days  ox  the  Hudson. 

Over  a  corduroy  road.  Boating  on  a  lake. 

the  works,  and  partly  to  the  depressed  condition  of 
the  iron  trade.  Henceforth  the  village  was  desert- 
ed of  its  inhabitants. 

Their  next  day's  journey  was  in  a  stout,  spring- 
less  wagon,  over  a  merciless  corduroy  road,  twenty- 
six  weary  miles,  to  Pendleton. 

"  We  have  had  a  pretty  tough  ride  to-day,"  said 
Clarence,  after  stretching  his  sore  and  stiffened 
limbs  on  a  grass  plot  in  front  of  the  house  which 
was  to  be  their  home  for  a  day  or  two. 

"It  was  rather  jolty,"  replied  Arthur,  "  but  I 
think  the  view  we  had  of  that  sweet  patch  of  fairy- 
land they  call  Sandford  Lake  was  at  least  part  pay- 
ment for  the  shaking  we  got." 

The  party  agreed  to  this  opinion,  as  they  did  also 
to  the  colonel's  proposal  of  an  idle  evening  and  an 
earl}'  hour  for  retirement. 

But  fatigue  in  that  pure  air  soon  wore  off,  and 
the  next  morning  found  them  all  cheerful,  and 
eager  to  start  in  boats  for  Harris's  Lake. 

o 

Boating  on  the  lake  was  a  new  and  pleasant  ex- 
perience to  our  tourists;  "Infinitely  easier  than 
roughing  it  on  corduroy  roads,"  Arthur  asserted,  in 
a  tone  made  emphatic  by  the  twinges  oi~  his  still 
aching  bones.  The  lake  the)'  found  to  be  a  beauti- 
ful sheet  of  water:  the  rapids  at  its  head  Mrs. 
Stuart  pronounced  "very  picturesque  indeed,"  set 


From  Tahawus  to  the  End  of  the  Tour 


'h<  , 


Grand  aspects  of  the  mountains. 


A  rocky  knob. 


off,  as  it  was,  by  the  rounded  form  of  Goodenow 
Mountain  in  the  distant  background.  The  aspects 
of  Mount  Tahawus,  (Mount  Marcy,)  Mount  Colden, 


r.M'IDS    AT   TI1F.    HEAD    OF    HARRIS'S     LAKE. 


and  Mount  M'Intyre,  seen  from  a  point  of  view 
below  the  rapids,  Clarence  declared  to  be  "  grand, 
even  if  they  are  old  friends,"  an  opinion  from  which 
no  one  felt  disposed  to  dissent. 

Early  next  morning  they  launched  their  boats  on 
the  placid  face  of  Rich's  Lake,  a  miniature  body  of 
water  only  two  miles  and  a  half  long,  but  surround- 
ed by  many  peculiar  objects.  One  of  these  was  the 
Goodenow  Mountain,  rising  from  its  southern  shore 
to  the  height  of  more  than  fourteen  hundred  feet, 
and  crowned  with  a  curiously  formed  "  rocky  knob  ;  " 


2J0 


Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 


tingukr  resemblances  to  an  elephant. 


the  other  was  a  wood-crowned  limestone  penin- 
sula, called  Elephant  Island. 

"  See  !"  exclaimed  Arthur,  pointing  to  a  protrud- 
ing rock,  at  the  corner  of  the  promontory,  "  that 
looks  for  all  the  world  like  an  elephant  standing  in 
a  stall." 

"  You  are  not  the  first  to  perceive  such  a  like- 
ness," replied  the  colonel ;  "  that,  with  other  singular 


ri.r.ru a ni    m  wi> 


resemblances  to  that   animal  to  be  seen   in  these 

rocks,  gave  this  little  islet  its  name." 

"But  is  it  really  an  island*""  asked  Edith.     "It 
looks  as  if  it  jutted  out  from  the  shore." 

"  S<>  it  dors,  my  dear,"  replied  the  eolonel.     "  But 


From  Tahawus  to  the  End  of  the  Tour.       271 

A  forest  saw-mill.  A  clearing. 

when  the  lake  is  full  the  waters  flow  over  the  short 
neck  of  land  which  joins  it  to  the  main,  and  make 
it  an  island." 

.  Passing  out  of  this  pretty  lake,  they  soon  reached 
the  confluence  of  the  Hudson  and  Fishing  Brook. 
Here  they  left  the  boats,  and  walked  half  a  mile 
through  the  forest  to  see  a  clearing  and  a  saw-mill, 
said  to  be  the  first  on  the  Hudson. 

The  saw-mill  stood  at  the  head  of  a  wild  gorge, 
through  which  the  water  ran  with  picturesque  wild- 
ness  from  the  pond  above. 

The  clearing  was  a  great  novelty  to  all  but  the 
colonel.  They  had  never  before  seen  the  face  of  a 
patch  of  forest  when  undergoing  man's  first  efforts 
to  subdue  it  from  it£  wilderness  condition.  As  they 
were  looking  at  the  field,  almost  covered  with  stones 
and  charred  stumps,  Arthur  said, — 

"  It  doesn't  seem  possible  that  this  piece  of  land 
can  ever  be  made  into  a  smooth,  highly  cultivated 
field.  How  can  men  ever  plow  between  these 
stumps  and  boulders?" 

"The  owner  will  be  likely  to  put  in  his  first  crop 
without  plowing,"  replied  the  colonel.  "  He  will 
loosen  its  surface  with  the  hoe,  and,  after  dropping 
his  seed,  will  cover  it  with  the  same  instrument. 
The  rich,  virgin  soil  will  give  him  a  good  crop. 
After  taking  it  off,  he  will  gather  the  stones  into 


272         Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 


The  settler's  conquest  of  nature. 


V^A 


toe 


FIK81     -  \  \\     Mil. I.    ON    TliK    IP 


heaps.  If  able,  he  will  pull  many  of  these  stumps 
with  a  machine  worked  by*  oxen;  others  of  them  he 
will  reduce  to  ashes  by  fire.  Then  he  will  put  in 
his  plow.    It  will  be  slow,  rough  work  the  first  time  : 


from  Tahawus  to  the  End  of  the  Tour.       273 


A  "carry.*1  A  sail  on  Lilypad  Pond. 


but  year  by  year  it  will  become  easier,  and  in  far 
fewer  seasons  than  you  can  readily  imagine  he  will 
have  this  field  almost  as  clean  and  smooth  as  the 
surface  of  a  Connecticut  meadow." 

Returning  to  their  boats,  our  tourists  proceeded 
by  a  "  carry  "—that  is,  by  walking,  the  guides  carry- 
ing their  baggage  and  boats — from  the  junction  of 
the  Hudson  and  Fishing  Brook  to  Lilypacl  Pond. 
The  distance  was  only  three  quarters  of  a  mile,  and 
the  walk  was  an  agreeable  diversion,  albeit  the  path 


FIRST   CLEARING   ON   THE   HUDSON. 


was  none  of  the  smoothest.     Another  sail,  through 
this  pond  and  Narrow  Lake,  and  then  a  short  walk 


12* 


274         Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 

Edith's  poetic  fancy. 

over  rough  boulders,  brought  them  to  the  outlet  of 
the  beautiful  Catlin  Lake. 

"  This    is    another    scene    from    fairy-land,"    said 


I    1IIIS     LAKE. 


Edith,  as  the  light  boat  sped  like  an  arrow  along 
the  unruffled  surface  of  the  water.  "  1  can  scarcely 
believe  that  such  a  charming  spot  belongs  to  this 
solitude.  The  fair  naiads  of  these  forests  must 
have  conjured  it  up  for  our  entertainment,  and 
when  we  are  gone  it  will  dissolve,  like  a  work  of 
enchantment." 

"A    very    poetical    fancy,    Edith,    and    very   com- 
plimentary   to    us,"    replied    the    colonel,    laughing; 


From  Tahawus  to  the  End  of  t lie  Tour.       275 

Beginning  a  hard  day's  journey. 

"  but,  unfortunately  for  your  theory,  every  sum- 
mer visitor  to  these  regions  finds  it  just  as  you 
see  it." 

"  It  is  lucky  for  us  that  it  is  so,"  added  Clarence. 

"Why  so,  sir?"  asked  Edith. 

"  Because,  if  the  scene  were  an  illusion,  and  it 
should  happen  .to  dissolve  just  now,  we  might  find 
ourselves  carried  with  it  into  some  fairy  grotto  be- 
neath the  lake,  which  might  be  more  airy  and  fan- 
tastic than  would  suit  our  earthly,  matter-of-fact 
natures." 

As  Clarence  made  this  remark  their  boat  touched 
the  shore.  They  landed,  and  found  the  guides  of 
the  other  boats,  which  had  preceded  theirs,  busily 
preparing  a  camp  for  their  night's  abode. 

Their  next  day's  journey  put  their  powers  of  en- 
durance to  a  pretty  severe  test.  Not  at  its  begin- 
ning, however,  for  that  was  a  decidedly  easy  and 
delightful  boat-ride,  through  a  miniature  body  of 
water  with  shores  that  charmed  their  eyes  with 
beauty,  and  which  emptied  into  Catlin  Lake  through 
a  stony  channel. 

"  This  is  Fountain  Lake,"  said  the  colonel,  as  they 
stood  at  the  head  of  its  outlet,  waiting  for  the  guides 
to  launch  the  boats.  The  "carry"  of  a  mile  had 
enabled  them  "  to  stretch  their  legs,"  as  Arthur  in- 
elegantly expressed  it. 


276         Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 

Fountain  Lake.  A  bold  start 

"Why  is  it  called  Fountain  Lake,  sir?"  inquired 
the  properly  inquisitive  Clarence. 

"  Because  it  is  the  first  basin  which  collects  water 
from  the  springs  which  give  origin  to  the  western 
branch  of  our  noble  Hudson.  We  shall  presently 
drink  from  the  principal  of  those  springs — that  is," 
the  colonel  added  after  a  significant  pause,  "  if  we 
have  pluck  enough  to  go  through  the  swamp  beyond 
which  it  lies." 

The  young  men  boldly  affirmed  that  they  "  could 
stand  swamp  travel  or  any  thing  else.  The  last 
week  had  made  them  tough  as  hunters."  In  the 
same  spirit  the  ladies  declared  they  had  become 
daughters  of  the  forest,  and  "  could  go  through  the 
woods  as  readily  as  Diana  of  the  ancients." 

This  merry  boasting  soon  met  its  test,  for,  having 
glided  across  the  two  miles'  length  of  Fountain 
Lake,  and  ascended  Spring  Brook  as  far  as  their 
boats  could  float,  they  entered  the  swamp.  To  re- 
lieve the  guides,  who  had  to  carry  the  boats,  each 
of  our  tourists  carried  a  small  portion  of  their  bag- 
gage. With  full  hands,  light  hearts,  and  loud  mer- 
riment, they  plunged  into  the  swamp. 

But  walking  over  ground  full  of  holes,  stones,  and 
gnarled  roots,  covered  with  tangled  vines  and  strag- 
gling shrubs,  with  fallen  trees  lying  every-where 
across  the  track,  is  no  laughing  matter.      Hence,  in 


From  Tahawus  to  the  End  of  the  Tour.       277 


Traveling  under  difficulties. 


ii  short  time  their  jokes  died  away.     They  plunged 
on  in  silence,  broken  only  by  such  exclamations  as, 


O  ! "     "  This  is  tough  ! 


Dear  me,  how  hot  it 


is!"      "  Plague    on    these    monstrous    mosquitoes! 

they  are  eating  me  up,"  etc.     Every  few  moments 

saw  them  panting  and  resting  against  a  prostrate 

tree,    diligently  wiping    away   the    perspiration,    or 

peering    through    the    woods    with    glances    which 
24 


278         Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 

Haifa  mile  an  hour.  A  feast  of  raspberries. 

seemed  to  say,  "  O,  that  we  were  at  the  end  of  the 
swamp  I" 

But  all  things,  swamps  not  excepted,  have  an 
end,  and  after  an  hour's  toil  they  found  themselves 
half  a  mile  from  their  starting-point,  on  more  prac- 
ticable ground. 

"  Half  a  mile  an  hour!"  exclaimed  Arthur,  puff- 
ing vigorously.  "  I  call  that  lightning  express 
speed.  There  is  not  a  steam-engine  in  the  country 
that  could  begin  to  come  up  with  it.  In  fact,  I'll 
back  this  party  against  the  best  locomotive  ever 
built." 

"You  mean  on  this  ground"  added  Clarence. 

"  Faugh  !  "  exclaimed  Jennie,  laughing  scornfully. 
"  A  steam-engine  couldn't  budge  here." 

11  Come  and  taste  these  raspberries  !  "  cried  the 
colonel,  who  had  moved  off  into  a  sort  of  cut  which 
had  once  been  made  for  a  canal,  intended  to  unite 
the  waters  of  Long  Lake  with  those  of  Fountain 
Lake,  but  which  had  never  been  finished. 

The  colonel's  call  attracted  them.  The  ripe  rasp- 
berries were  abundant  and  refreshing.  Their  merri- 
ment returned,  and,  after  traversing  the  cut  with 
comparative  ease  for  half  a  mile,  they  found  them- 
selves standing  at  a  spring,  five  feet  in  diameter, 
named  1  [endrick,  in  honor  of  that  glorious  old  navi- 
or,  Hendrick  Hudson.     They  were  gazing  on  a 


From  Tahawus  to  the  End  of  the  Tour.       279 

Hendrick  Spring.  Linden  Sea. 

spring  which  is  the  fruitful  parent  of  the  western 
branch  of  one  of  the  finest  rivers  in  America. 

"What  deliciously  cold  water!"  exclaimed  Ar- 
thur, after  drinking  from  the  shallow  pool. 

"  See  those  lovely  ferns  ! "  cried  Edith,  pointing 
to  the  delicate  fronds  which  adorned  the  margin  of 
the  spring. 

After  resting  awhile  in  this  lovely  nook,  our 
tourists  resumed  their  tedious  journey  through  the 
swamp.  They  bore  it  well,  but  their  cheerfulness 
grew  smaller  by  degrees,  until,  reaching  the  end  of 
that  fatiguing  "  carry,"  they  came  to  Long  Lake,  on 
which  they  embarked,  and  sailed  until  they  reached 
a  spot  near  to  a  sort  of  forest  inn,  at  which  they 
spent  the  night. 

Long  Lake  was  called  Inca-pa-chow>  or  the  Linden 
Sea,  by  the  Indians,  because  of  the  numerous  Lin- 
den-trees growing  round  its  shores.  It  is  thirteen 
miles  long,  dotted  here  and  there  with  lovely  islets, 
surrounded  with  trees,  which  grow  in  some  places 
on  points  which  jut  out  into  its  transparent  waters, 
while  grand  mountains  rise  loftily  in  the  distance, 
lending  their  simple  grandeur  to  the  scene. 

This  lake,  they  were  told,  though  less  than  half  a 
mile  from  Hendrick  Spring,  the  western  birthplace 
of  the  Hudson,  and  on  the  same  level,  flows  into 
the  St.  Lawrence,  and  empties  into  the  Atlantic  a 


28o        Summer  Days  ox  the  Hudson. 

A  beautiful  lake. 

thousand    miles    north-east    of   the    mouth    of   the 
Hudson. 

From  Long  Lake,  where  they  rested  over  Satur- 


ItAQI   I   :  M     1:1  \  KK. 


day  and  Sunday,  our  party  proceeded  to  the  Ra- 
quette  River,  which  flows  through  it,  "like  the 
Rhone  .'t  Geneva."  They  were  astonished  at  its 
size,  and  at  the  beauty  of  its  park-like  sho 


From  Tahawus  to  tlie  End  of  the  Tour.       2  Si 


Snow-shoe  Eiver. 


Moose. 


"  Raquette !  Why  is  it  called  Raquctte  River?" 
asked  Clarence. 

"This  is  a  region  formerly  abounding  in  moose, 
and  on  these  shores  the  Indians  once  gathered  in 
large  numbers  to  hunt.  They  came  on  snow-shoes. 
Raquette  is  French  for  snow-shoe,  and  hence  came 
the  name  of  the  river.  There  is  another  opinion, 
however,  which  asserts  that  the  Indians  named  it 
Ni-ha-na-zva-te,  Noisy  River.  But  as  the  stream  is 
no  more  noisy  than  its  neighbor,  the  Grass  River, 


IK.N.YN  I.S    OK    I  Pl'i:i:    UlteU.N    t 


this  source  of  the  name  is  rejected  by  so  good  a 
critic  in  these  matters  as  Lossing." 

11 1  once  saw  a  moose  in  a  menagerie,"  said  Edith. 
'  Is  it  found  in  these  woods  now?" 


282         Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 

Wild  animals.  Log-houses. 

"  Not  in  droves,  my  dear,"  replied  the  colonel, 
"  but  only  in  small  numbers.  The  white  hunter  has 
thinned  out  the  race,  as  he  has  also  that  of  the  deer, 
the  bear,  the  otter,  and  the  beaver.  The  wolf  and 
the  panther  he  has  almost  blotted  from  existence, 
as  he  will  all  the  others  in  a  few  brief  years,  unless, 
moved  by  his  interests,  he  should  protect  the  noble 
deer.  But  I  doubt  not  that  he  and  the  speculator 
in  lumber,  whose  short-sighted  greed  is  fast  de- 
stroying our  noble  forests,  will,  in  a  few  years,  kill 
the  last  of  the  beasts  which  have  for  ages  found  a 
home  in  these  grand  old  woods." 

From  Raquette  River  our  travelers  proceeded 
by  Stony  Brook  to  Spectacle  Ponds ;  and  thence, 
through  these  three  beautiful  sheets  of  water,  and 
a  short  "carry,"  to  the  shores  of  the  upper  Saranac 
Lake,  near  which  they  found  entertainment  at  the 
log-house  of  a  hunter,  which  was  a  fair  specimen 
of  the  homes  that  the  first  settlers  were  in  the  habit 
of  building  before  the  now  almost  universal  saw- 
mill enabled  them  to  build  "frame"  houses. 

"There  isn't  much  comfort  in  a  log-house,"  ob- 
served Jennie,  with  a  slight  curl  oi'  her  lip,  on  the 
morning  of  their  departure  for  a  trip  across  the  three 
Saranac  Lai. 

"Not  much  to  invite  an  elegant  lounger,  whose 
ideas  of  comfort  were  formed  in  a  sumptuous  home, 


From  Takawus  to  the  End  of  t Jw  Tour. 


28 


Happy  homes. 


A  Canadian  family, 


I  confess,"  replied  the  colonel.  "  Nevertheless,  a 
log-house  is  often  the  abode  of  more  contentment 
and    real   happiness  than  are  to  be  found   in   royal 


-Ml* 


^WV-C/^^v 


A   LO(i-lIOL"Si:    IN   TIIK   FOKEbT. 


palaces  and  magnificent  mansions.  I  recollect  a 
family  in  Canada,  with  whom  I  once  found  pleasant 
entertainment.  They  were  then  living  in  a  large 
frame  house,  finely  situated  on  the  banks  of  a  love- 
ly little  lake.  Their  farm  was  large,  highly  culti- 
vated, very  productive,  and  largely  stocked  with 
superior  cattle,  sheep,  and  horses.  Their  home 
was  comfortably,  not  to  say  richly,  furnished.  Six 
daughters  and  three  sons,  all  in  fine  health  and 
possessing   excellent    characters,   made    that   house 


284         Summer  Days  cn  the  Hudson. 

A  finer  home  but  less  happiness. 

cheerful,  and  contributed  to  the  happiness  of  the 
father  and  mother.  One  day,  while  talking  with 
this  stout  old  farmer,  he  told  me  that  he  married 
young,*  and  moved  with  his  bride  into  what  was 
then  a  wilderness.  '  Our  whole  fortune,'  said  he, 
'  consisted  of  an  ax,  a  spade,  a  hoe,  a  cow,  and  a 
few  trifles  which  we  brought  on  the  creature's  back. 
We  camped  out  until  I  built  that  log-house  which 
you  see  on  the  edge  of  the  barn-yard  yonder,  and 
I  tell  you,  sir,  that  my  wife  and  I  often  remark  that 
our  happiest  days  were  spent  under  its  rude,  un- 
ceiled  roof.  We  were  poor,  we  worked  hard,  but 
the  bird  of  hope  sung  its  sweet  songs  in  our  hearts, 
and  we  enjoyed  life  amazingly — better,  sir,  than  we 
do  now  in  our  big  house.  I  do  not  mean  to  say 
we  arc  not  happy  now,  sir,  but  we  have  so  many 
cares,  and  so  much  to  vex  us,  that  we  often  sigh 
for  the  good  old  days  spent  in  that  dear  old  log- 
shanty.'  " 

"  I  guess  there  was  some  romance  in  all  that, 
uncle,"  rejoined  Jennie. 

"  Perhaps  so,  perhaps  so,"  said  the  colonel,  "  but 
I  would  have  you  remember,  my  dear,  that  hap- 
piness is  not  the  product  of  cither  stately  or  log 
walls,  of  cheap  or  costly  furniture,  but  of  the  human 
hearts  which  dwell  within  the  building.  If  they  are 
at  peace  with  God  and  man  their  external  surround- 


From  Tahaivus  to  the  End  of  the  Tour. 


^j 


Crossing  the  Saranac  Lakes.  Leaving  the  wilderness, 

ings  are  of  far  less  consequence  than  men  generally 
imagine." 

Their  embarkation  on  the  Upper  Saranac  Lake 
put  an  end  to  what  Jennie,  in  a  whisper  to  Edith, 
somewhat  disrespectfully  called  "  uncle's  preach- 
ing." The  thirteen  miles'  trip  on  this  "  dark,  wild 
sheet  of  water"  was  followed  by  a  short  "carry," 
which  led  to  Round  Lake,  as  the  middle  Saranac 
Lake  is  called,  over  which  they  sailed  nearly  four 
miles.  Thence  by  a  narrow  winding  stream,  beau- 
tifully fringed  with  rushes,  lilies,  and  other  plants, 
they  made  their  way  to  the  Lower  Saranac.  A 
delightful  sail  of  six  miles  on  that  placid  sheet  of 
water,  among  numerous  lovely  little  islets,  brought 
them  by  evening  to  a  comfortable  forest  inn.  Here 
they  doffed  their  rough  wilderness  garb  and  re- 
sumed their  usual  dresses.  Their  journeys  by  boat 
and  on  foot  in  the  wild  woods  were  over.  The  next 
day  comfortable  wagons,  drawn  by  stout  horses, 
bore  them  rapidly  through  the  Great  Au  Sable 
Valley.  The  magnificence  of  the  scenery  afford- 
ed- them  much  pleasure.  Nevertheless,  they  were 
far  from  displeased  on  arriving  at  Port  Kent,  in  the 
evening,  to  find  that  they  were  about  to  return  to 
their  wonted  way  of  life,  amid  those  comforts  of 
our  high  civilization  to  which  long  habit  had  accus- 
tomed them. 


286         Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 

Gains  of  the  tour.  One  drawback. 

The  next  day  found  them  on  Lake  Champlain  on 
their  way  to  Whitehall,  whence,  by  rail  and  steam- 
boat, they  were  soon  borne  back  to  their  point  of 
departure — the  Mountain  House  on  Englewood 
Cliffs — which  was  their  favorite  summer  resort. 
When  seated  on  its  broad  piazza  the  morning  after 
their  return,  discussing  their  tour,  the  colonel  ob- 
served : — 

"  I  think  we  have  all  richly  enjoyed  our  trip.  We 
have  certainly  added  to  our  strength  and  healthful- 
ness.  What  we  have  seen  of  this  truly  grand  river 
and  its  adjacent  scenery  has  widened  the  circle  of 
our  knowledge,  quickened  our  powers  of  observa- 
tion, and  improved  our  taste  for  the  beautiful  in 
nature.  Our  conversations  respecting  the  associa- 
tions, legendary  and  historical,  connected  with  the 
localities  we  have  visited  have  given  us  a  firmer 
hold  of  facts  we  knew  before,  and  have  also  added 
somewhat  to  our  mental  stores.  Altogether,  I  think 
our  tour  may  be  pronounced  sensible,  profitable, 
and  exceedingly  pleasant." 

To  this  conclusion  the  whole  party  gave  cordial 
assent;  Miss  Jennie,  however,  laughingly  saying, 

"There  is  but  one  drawback  to  it  all —the  trip 
has  spoiled  our  complexions.  We  are  all  as  brown 
as  gipsies  !  " 

"  I  had  scarcely  noticed  that  unquestionable  fact," 


From  Takawus  to  the  End  of t/ie  Tour.       287 

A  compliment  to  Jennie.  Flattering  words. 

replied  Arthur,-  and  then,  lowering  his  voice,  he 
added,  in  a  tone  meant  only  to  reach  Miss  Jennie's 
ears,  "  but  the  increased  brilliancy  of  your  eyes  has 
so  lighted  up  your  face  that  one  doesn't  observe  its 
deepened  color  much." 

Miss  Jennie  blushed  at  this  compliment,  which, 
though  spoken  softly,  had  caught  the  colonel's  ear. 
Playfully  shaking  his  finger  at  Arthur,  he  said  in  a 
significant  tone, — 

"  Arthur,  my  boy,  the  words  of  a  flatterer  are  the 
seeds  of  foolish  actions,  and  nothing  can  give  real 
beauty  to  the  human  face  but  the  honor,  innocence, 
and  integrity  of  the  soul  which  dwells  behind  it." 

This  gentle  rebuke  made  the  color  rise  in  the 
young  man's  face.  He  bowed  somewhat  awkward- 
ly, but  made  no  reply.  Mrs.  Stuart,  however,  came 
to  his  relief,  saying  in  her  own  gentle,  playful 
manner, — ■ 

"  Let  us  have  peace,  my  brother.  Arthur's  pret- 
ty words  were  but  as  flecks  of  idle  foam,  which  dis- 
appear in  a  moment.  Jennie  understood  them  thus. 
I  trust  them  both,  as  I  do  Miss  Edith  and  Master 
Clarence.  They  possess  common  sense.  They  re- 
spect themselves  and  us.  They  will  not  act  im- 
prudently. Let  us  rejoice,  therefore,  with  unmixed 
joy,  over  these  happy  days  spent  on  our  noblest 
of  rivers,    trusting   that   when   the   stream    of  time 


288 


Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson. 


Mrs.  Stuart's  faith. 


The  colonel's  caution. 


has  borne  us  a  little  nearer  to  the  great  Hereafter, 
the  wishes  of  our  hearts,  and  theirs  also,  will  be 
gratified." 

The  colonel  smiled  benignly  on  his  sister  as  he 
replied  : — 

"  Yes,  yes,  it  is  well  to  be  hopeful,  but  I  want 
these  young  folks  to  bear  in  mind  that  much,  Very 
much  of  their  future  will  be  what  they  choose  to 
make  it.  Right  aims,  pure  motives,  diligent  self- 
culture,  patient  waiting  on  Divine  Providence,  and 
supreme  loyalty  to  our  loving  Redeemer,  will  make 
their  future  life-journey  happy,  and  cause  its  ending 
to  be  but  as  the  beginning  of  bliss. 

The  lunch  bell  put  an  end  to  further  conversation, 
as  it  must  also  be  permitted  to  do  to  our  story  of 
"Summer  Days  on  the  Hudson." 


